Diplacus viscidus
Viscid monkeyflower
(c) Trevor Van Loon, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Trevor Van Loon · licence
Family: Phrymaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Diplacus viscidus (Viscid monkeyflower) is a native California herb in the Phrymaceae family, recognized by large flowers with dark striped petals and hairy face.
Viscid monkeyflower is a California native annual found in the Sierra Nevada foothills from El Dorado to northern Mariposa counties in burned areas, chaparral openings, and disturbed sites at elevations of 90 to 1,250 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces lavender to magenta flowers with darker markings, 8 to 20 millimeters wide, featuring a white or yellowish throat with distinctive dark red-purple stripes along the lobe midveins. Growing 6 to 37 centimeters tall with hairy stems, it develops a delicate branching structure with scattered stems. Its leaves range from 4 to 45 millimeters long, mostly obovate to narrowly elliptic, with the lowest leaves typically glabrous. The flower's calyx is widely ribbed, swollen, and densely hairy, measuring 8 to 15 millimeters long with slightly unequal lobes.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 12 sympatric species; distinguished by large flowers with dark striped petals and hairy face
Habitat and range
Habitat: Burns, openings in chaparral, disturbed areas
Elevation: 90-1250 m
Bloom period
Diplacus viscidus blooms Apr-Jul.
How to tell it apart
vs Erythranthe: Diplacus has a corolla that withers and stays attached and typically grows in dry, rocky places; Erythranthe drops its corolla cleanly and favors wet seeps and streambanks.; vs Mimulus: Diplacus covers the shrubby and small annual western monkeyflowers with ribbed, inflating calyces; Mimulus (in the strict sense) is a fleshy-stemmed perennial with squarish 4-angled stems.; vs Mimetanthe: Diplacus is puberulent to glandular with a distinctly 2-lipped flower; Mimetanthe is densely long-soft-wavy-hairy with tiny yellow flowers and a nearly regular calyx.; vs Collinsia: Diplacus has an open funnel-throated corolla and a 5-ribbed calyx; Collinsia has a sharply 2-lipped flower with the middle lower lobe folded into a keel that hides the stamens.; vs Antirrhinum: Diplacus has an open-throated corolla and free calyx lobes; Antirrhinum (snapdragon) has a closed, pouched throat sealed by a palate and a spurless sac at the base.
Frequently asked questions
Is Diplacus viscidus native to California?
Yes. Diplacus viscidus is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Diplacus viscidus bloom?
Diplacus viscidus blooms Apr-Jul.
What plant family does Diplacus viscidus belong to?
Diplacus viscidus is in the Phrymaceae family, genus Diplacus.
What habitat does Diplacus viscidus grow in?
Diplacus viscidus grows in Burns, openings in chaparral, disturbed areas.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
- Diplacus angustatus — Purplelip pansy monkeyflower
- Diplacus aridus — Low bush monkeyflower
- Diplacus aurantiacus — Orange bush monkeyflower
- Diplacus australis
- Diplacus bicolor — Harlequin monkeyflower
- Diplacus bigelovii — Bigelow's monkeyflower
- Erythranthe acutidens — Kings river monkeyflower
- Erythranthe alsinoides — Chickweed monkeyflower
- Erythranthe androsacea — Rock-jasmine monkeyflower
- Erythranthe angulosa — sweet-stem monkeyflower
Sources: Jepson eFlora · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.