Diplacus douglasii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names brownies and purple mouse ears. It is native to the mountains and foothills of California and Oregon, where it is often found on serpentine soils.[1]D. douglasii was first described in a published flora by George Bentham,[1] an English botanist who was considered "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century,.[2]" It was later described by Asa Gray, the father of North American botany.[3][4][5][6]
The leaf blades are 5–28mm (0.2–1.1in) long, ovate to obovate, and shiny green on their upper surfaces.
Description
This description comes from the 2nd edition Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California.[7]
Diplacus douglasii is a diminutive annual herb that produces a magenta flower. The overall stature of the plant is very small, varying in height from 0.3 – 4 centimeters tall.
Like other monkeyflowers, the flowers are bisexual and bilaterally symmetrical, with fused petals that form a tube-throat.[8] The throat has gold and purple stripes, which form bold mottling. The tube and upper lips are magenta, and the lower lobes are so reduced that they appear absent. The flowers can be open or cleistogamous, staying closed and self-pollinating. The flower is persistent and sits atop a 2 – 4 millimeter pedicel. The calyx is generally green, hairy, and ranges in size from 8 – 14 millimeters, with unequal lobes.[1]
The leaves are ovate to obovate blades, which range in size from 5 – 28 millimeters. The upper side of the leaves are a shiny green and are generally hairy.
The seeds are hard, asymmetrically-ovid, and range in size from 2.5 – 6.5 millimeters.[1]
Distribution and habitat
Diplacus douglasii occurs between 45 – 1200 meters elevation in the mountains and foothills of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Ranges in California and Oregon. It is also found in Southwestern Oregon, Central Western California, and in the Warner Mountains of California[1]
D. douglasii is classified as a serpentine indicator[9] and hence is most commonly found serpentine soils, but can also be found on bare clay or granitic soils.[1] As a hydrophyte, it is generally found along the upper banks of small creeks,[1] and is classified as a facultative wetland species.[10] However, it is important to note that D. douglasii is equally likely to be found in wetland and non wetland habitats, also occurring in chaparral and foothill woodland communities.[11]
Ecology
Diplacus douglasii flowers between February and April.[1]
Growing on serpentine soils, it has adaptations to survive conditions most plants can't tolerate. Serpentine soils are known to be deficient in essential nutrients for plants. In addition to being low in essential plant nutrients such as nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur, serpentine soils also have high levels of magnesium and heavy metals including nickel, cobalt and chromium, which are toxic to most plants.[12]
Other plants commonly found growing alongside M. douglasii include:[13]
Monkeyflowers "have become model systems for the study of evolutionary processes in nature[5]", because of their diversity in life history and morphology, varied reproduction (self-pollination to outcrossing) and ease to work with in experimental settings.[14] They have currently sequenced the full genome for Erythranthe douglasii with 100bp paired-end at 40X coverage.[15]
Because of its affinity for serpentine soils, studying D. douglasii presents an opportunity to better understand adaptive traits in extreme environmental conditions. Researchers have found that distinct populations of D. douglasii appear to have different environmental response thresholds for when they begin producing more cleistogamous versus open flowers. This means that different populations have varying rates of inbreeding, resource use, and ability to survive hot and dry conditions.[15] Understanding this mechanism could give scientists insight into how plants adapt to climatic shifts of warmer and drier conditions.
Synonyms
Mimulus cleistogamus
Eunanus douglasii
Eunanus subuniflorus
Mimulus atropurpureus
Mimulus nanus var. subuniflorus
Mimulus subuniflorus
Related Research Articles
Diplacus aurantiacus, the sticky monkey-flower or orange bush monkey-flower, is a flowering plant that grows in a subshrub form, native to southwestern North America from southwestern Oregon south through most of California. It is a member of the lopseed family, Phrymaceae. It was formerly known as Mimulus aurantiacus.
Erythranthe guttata, with the common names seep monkeyflower and common yellow monkeyflower, is a yellow bee-pollinated annual or perennial plant. It was formerly known as Mimulus guttatus.
Diplacus rupicola, the Death Valley monkeyflower, is a flowering plant in the family Phrymaceae.
Erythranthe cardinalis, the scarlet monkeyflower, is a flowering perennial in the family Phrymaceae. Together with other species in Mimulus section Erythranthe, it serves as a model system for studying pollinator-based reproductive isolation. It was formerly known as Mimulus cardinalis.
Diplacus aridus, is a species of monkeyflower with yellow blossoms. It was formerly known as Mimulus aridus.
Diplacus angustatus is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names purplelip pansy monkeyflower and narrowleaf pansy monkeyflower.
Diplacus bolanderi is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Bolander's monkeyflower.
Diplacus brevipes is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name widethroat yellow monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus brevipes.
Erythranthe filicaulis, known by the common name slender-stemmed monkeyflower, is a species of monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus filicaulis.
Erythranthe floribunda is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name many-flowered monkeyflower. It is native to western North America from western Canada to California and northern Mexico, to the Rocky Mountains. It grows in many types of habitat, especially moist areas. It was formerly known as Mimulus floribundus.
Diplacus mephiticus is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names skunky monkeyflower and foul odor monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus mephiticus.
Diplacus mohavensis is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Mojave monkeyflower.
Diplacus nanus is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name dwarf purple monkeyflower. It is native to California and the Northwestern United States to Montana. It grows in moist habitat, often in bare or disturbed soils. It was formerly known as Mimulus nanus.
Erythranthe parishii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Parish's monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus parishii.
Diplacus pictus is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name calico monkeyflower.
Diplacus pygmaeus is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Egg Lake monkeyflower.
Diplacus rattanii is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Rattan's monkeyflower.
Erythranthe shevockii is a rare species of monkeyflower known by the common name Kelso Creek monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus shevockii.
Diplacus torreyi is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Torrey's monkeyflower.
Diplacus whitneyi is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Harlequin monkeyflower. It was formerly known as Mimulus lewisii. It is also known as Diplacus bicolor.
↑ 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. doi:10.1554/02-086. JSTOR3448862. PMID12894947. S2CID198154155.
1 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. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.7.1093. JSTOR4122195. PMID21665709.
↑ Kruckeberg, A.R. 1984. California Serpentines: Flora, Vegetation, Geology, Soils, and Management Problems. Volume 78 of UC Publications in Botany Series.University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California. Google Books. Web. 28 May 2015. https://books.google.com
↑ Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals, including the Consortium of California Herbaria. [web application]. 2015. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: http://www.calflora.org/Archived 2018-11-17 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed: Jun 08, 2015).
↑ Rajakaruna, N. & Boyd, R.S. 2014. Serpentine Soils. Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199830060-0055, accessed on June 08, 2015
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