Erythranthe diffusa

Palomar monkeyflower

Family: Phrymaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Palomar monkeyflower is a California native annual herb found in the southern California mountains in openings of chaparral and meadows within pine and oak woodlands at elevations of 300 to 2,100 meters. Flowering from April to June, this delicate plant produces pink to purple flowers with notched petals and slender pedicels that spread horizontally as they mature. Growing with tiny puberulent stems 1 to 19 centimeters tall, it forms a compact and delicate annual form. Its leaves are small and variable, ranging from linear-oblanceolate to ovate, measuring 2 to 18 millimeters long and 1 to 10 millimeters wide. The fruit capsules are 3 to 6 millimeters long, developing within a membranous calyx with small, acute lobes.

Habitat: Openings in chaparral, meadows in pine and oak woodland, generally in granitic soils

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 300-2100 m

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.