Erythranthe gracilipes
Phytoneuron 2012-39: 35. 2012.
Annuals, taprooted. Stems erect, simple or branched, 5–15 cm, sparsely glandular-puberulent. Leaves cauline, basal not persistent; petiole 0 mm; blade 1-veined or palmately 3-veined (in broader ones), linear to lanceolate, (3–) 7–13 × 1–3 mm, base attenuate, margins entire, sometimes toothed, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces sparsely glandular-puberulent. Flowers herkogamous, 1–15, from distal or medial to distal nodes. Fruiting pedicels 8–30 mm. Fruiting calyces becoming red to straw colored, campanulate, 4–7 mm, margins distinctly toothed or lobed, sparsely glandular-puberulent, ribs thickened, lobes pronounced, erect, margins ciliate. Corollas pink to rose lavender, throat deep pink to purple with 2 yellow longitudinal ridges, bilaterally symmetric, strongly bilabiate, 2 adaxial lobes much reduced, smaller than 3 abaxials; tube-throat cylindric, 7–10 mm, exserted beyond calyx margin; limb expanded 5–9 mm, abaxial lobes rounded and shallowly 2-fid, abaxial limb glabrous or sparsely bearded. Styles glabrous. Anthers included, glabrous. Capsules included, 4–5 mm.
Phenology: Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat: Open areas in thin decomposed granite soils, often on edges of large granite boulders.
Elevation: 500–1300 m.
Discussion
Erythranthe gracilipes is endemic to the foothills of the central Sierra Nevada in Fresno, Madera, and Mariposa counties and apparently is most abundant after fire.
Selected References
None.