''Erythranthe shevockii'' is a rare species of
monkeyflower Monkey flower can refer to:
*Several genera of plant family Phrymaceae, including:
** ''Diplacus''
** ''Erythranthe''
** ''Mimulus''
*Various snapdragon-like Lamiales, including:
** ''Linaria vulgaris''
** ''Phyllocarpus septentrionalis
''Barne ...
known by the common name Kelso Creek monkeyflower. It was formerly known as ''Mimulus shevockii''.
Distribution
''Erythranthe shevockii'' is
endemic to the southern
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
in
Kern County, California, where it is known from about 10 occurrences near
Lake Isabella. It grows in
granitic,
alluvial soils
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Allu ...
in
dry washes and
Joshua tree woodlands where the Sierra Nevada transitions to the
Mojave Desert.
Description
''Erythranthe shevockii'' is an annual herb up to about 12 centimeters tall with a very slender, often red stem. The oppositely arranged oval leaves are no more than a centimeter long each and are sometimes fused together in pairs about the stem.
The tubular base of the flower is encapsulated in a red or red-spotted calyx of
sepals. The flower has a narrow tube throat and wide face, and is roughly a centimeter long. The corolla is divided into a deep maroon red upper lip and a wider lower lip which is yellow with red dots.
The plant sometimes
hybridizes with its relative, ''
Mimulus androsaceus''.
[Audubon Kern County]
Kelso Creek Monkeyflower: Audubon protects critical habitat up Cyrus Canyon
References
External links
Calflora Database: ''Mimulus shevockii'' (Kelso creek monkeyflower)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Mimulus shevockii''USDA Plants Profile for ''Mimulus shevockii''UC CalPhotos gallery: ''Mimulus shevockii''
shevockii
Endemic flora of California
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Flora of the California desert regions
Natural history of the Mojave Desert
Natural history of Kern County, California
Kern River Valley
Plants described in 1986
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Lamiales-stub