Erythranthe purpurea Calflora

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Taxon Report

Erythranthe purpurea (A.L. Grant) N.S. Fraga

little purple monkeyflower

Erythranthe purpurea is an annual herb that is native to California, and also found in Baja California.

also called Mimulus purpureus

California Rare Plant Rank: 1B.2 (rare, threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere).


	Plant Range Observation Search ~70 records in California Plant Characteristics one or more occurrences within a 7.5-minute quadrangle

Bloom Period

Photos on Calflora


Genus:	Erythranthe
Family:	Phrymaceae (Scrophulariaceae)
Category:	angiosperm
PLANTS group:	Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands: Occurs usually in non wetlands, occasionally in wetlands

Habitat: meadows, pebble-plain

Communities: Red Fir Forest, Lodgepole Forest

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + CNPS + POWO

Alternate Names:


JEF	Mimulus purpureus var. pauxillus
JEF	Mimulus purpureus var. purpureus
JEF + CNPS	Mimulus purpureus

Information about Erythranthe purpurea from other sources


Nursery availability from CNPLX Commercial availability unknown. Jepson eFlora Photos on Calflora Photos on CalPhotos Google Images Photos on iNaturalist ID Tips on PlantID.net	International Plants Names Index Search efloras.org (Flora of North America) Landscape information from Calscape CNPS Inventory: 1B.2 Consortium of California Herbaria 2 Search the Native American Ethnobotany Database	Add an Observation Location Suitability Planting Guide Distribution by County
[Wikipedia] Limited Range, Habitat: It is native to California, where it is known from only about 20 occurrences in the San Bernardino Mountains; it is also known from Baja California. It grows in moist habitat in mountain meadows, including the quartz pebble plain habitat type near Big Bear Lake. (link added by Mary Ann Machi) photos / record / common / links

Suggested Citation

Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2025. The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/ (Accessed: 03/30/2025).