Diplacus pygmaeus explained

Diplacus pygmaeus is a species of monkeyflower (Family Phrymaceae) known by the common name Egg Lake monkeyflower.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Distribution and habitat

It is native to northeastern California and adjacent sections of Oregon, where it grows in sagebrush and wet, open habitat in scrub, forest, and woodland. Once thought to be extremely rare and vulnerable, the plant is actually locally common in areas where the soil has been recently disturbed, allowing a probably large seed bank to germinate.^[4]

Despite its annual population sometimes running into the millions, the plant is threatened when large-scale disturbances occur.^{[4] [5]}

Description

This is a petite annual herb forming dense tufts often just a few millimeters high. The lightly hairy oval or widely lance-shaped leaves are up to 1.5 centimeters long. The yellow flower is no more than a centimeter long, its tubular base encapsulated in a hairy calyx of sepals.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• Photo gallery

Notes and References

1. Beardsley . P. M.. Yen. Alan . Olmstead . R. G. . 2003 . AFLP Phylogeny of Mimulus Section Erythranthe and the Evolution of Hummingbird Pollination. Evolution . 57 . 6. 1397–1410. 3448862 . 10.1554/02-086. 12894947. 198154155.
2. Beardsley . P. M. . Olmstead . R. G. . 2002 . Redefining Phrymaceae: the placement of Mimulus, tribe Mimuleae, and Phryma . American Journal of Botany . 89 . 7 . 1093–1102 . 10.3732/ajb.89.7.1093. 4122195 . 21665709.
3. Beardsley . P. M.. Schoenig. Steve E.. Whittall . Justen B. . Olmstead. Richard G. . 2004 . Patterns of Evolution in Western North American Mimulus (Phrymaceae) . American Journal of Botany. 91 . 3. 474–4890. 4123743 . 10.3732/ajb.91.3.474 . 21653403. free.
4. Meinke, R. J. (1995). Assessment of the genus Mimulus (Scrophulariaceae) within the interior Columbia River Basin of Oregon and Washington . Eastside Ecosystem Management Project.
5. Web site: California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile . 2011-07-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120326192220/http://northcoastcnps.org/cgi-bin/inv/inventory.cgi/Go?_id=mimulus_pygmaeus&sort=DEFAULT&search=Mimulus%20pygmaeus . 2012-03-26 . dead .