Purple Mouse-ears

Douglas’s Monkeyflower, Brownies
Diplacus douglasii
NATIVE

Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)

• Eudicotyledon
  • Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
• Lopseed Family (Phrymaceae)
• Diminutive, upright annual herb
• Leaves
  • Basal and ovate
  • Upperside shiny green
• Flowers
  • Inflorescence (flower arrangement) of 1-5 flowers from the leaf base
    • Comparatively long flower tube on a stubby pedicel (stalk of a single flower)
  • Bilaterally-symmetrical flower of 5 fused petals forming a lobed pouch
    • Upper 2 lobes are prominent (suggesting mouse ears)
    • Lower 3 lobes are extremely reduced
  • Magenta, with a golden-striped throat
  • Stamens (male flower parts) in 2 groups of 4, with orange pollen
  • Ovary superior (above the attachment of other flower parts)
• Fruit is a capsule (a dry, multi-chambered fruit that splits open at maturity)
• Height to 1.6 in.

Distribution

• Native to California
  • Grows in chaparral and foothill woodlands, on bare clay, serpentine, or granitic soils, “generally along upper banks of small creeks” (Jepson)
  • 65-74% of plants occur on ultramafic soils, e.g. serpentine; see ultramafic affinity rankings (Calflora per Safford and Miller 2020)
  • See Serpentine Grassland for more about Edgewood’s serpentine soil and the unique communities it supports
  • See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
• Outside California, found in southwestern Oregon
• Grows at elevations between 150 and 4,000 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)

• Nectar source for insects and hummingbirds
• No human uses found for this species

Name Derivation

• Diplacus (DIP-la-kus) – from the Greek di, “two,” and plax/plakos, “a disk,” referring to the double placenta of the seed capsule (Ritter 2015)
• douglasii (DUG-las-ee-eye) – named for David Douglas (1798-1834), Scottish botanist and collector
  • Over 80 scientific names of plants and animals honor Douglas, more than any other person
  • At Edgewood, 9 scientific plant names honor Douglas, e.g. blue oak (Quercus douglasii) and California mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana), as well as several common names, e.g. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) and Douglas’ microseris (Microseris douglasii ssp. douglasii)
• Purple mouse-ears – for the 2 prominent upper lobes of the flower

Notes

• Previously included in the Figwort family and the Mimulus genus
• Individual flower blooms for only 1 to 2 days
• Pollinated by insects when flower is open, or buds may remain closed and self-pollinate (cleistogamous) when conditions are unfavorable
  • Cleistogamy is a unique survival approach, especially beneficial for an annual plant
    • Production of seed occurs without the need of an outside pollinator
    • Botanical term is derived from the Greek kleistós, “closed,” and gamos, “marriage”

ID Tips

• When in bloom, this tiny plant can’t be confused with any other Edgewood flower
  • May require intense searching to find, but it’s always worth the effort!  

At Edgewood

• Grows in chaparral and serpentine barrens
  • See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
• Flowers February – April

Specific References

Alexander, E.B. 2010, Oct. & 2011, Jan. Serpentine soils and why they limit plant survival and growth. Fremontia 38/39: 28-31.

David Douglas [Frontispiece illustration]. 1836.  W.J. Hooker. Companion to the Botanical Magazine (Vol. 2). Public Domain.

Ritter, M. 2018. California Plants: A Guide to Our Iconic Flora. Pacific Street Publishing, San Luis Obispo, California.

Safford, H.D. 2010, Oct. & 2011, Jan. Serpentine endemism of the California flora. Fremontia 38/39: 32-39.

Safford, H.D., and J.E.D. Miller. 2020. An updated database of serpentine endemism in the California flora. Madroño 67(2): 85-104. BioOne Complete. PDF hosted by San Diego State University, San Diego, California.

General References

Calflora Database. 2014. Berkeley, California.

Calscape. 2018. California Native Plant Society.

Charters, M.L. 2015. California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations.

Charters, M.L. 2017. Southern California Wildflowers: Guide to the Pronunciation of Specific, Generic and Family Names.

Corelli, T. 2004. Flowering Plants of Edgewood Natural Preserve (2nd. ed.). Monocot Press, Half Moon Bay, California.

Dave’s Garden.

Elpel, T.J. 2013. Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. HOPS Press, Pony, Montana.

Flora of North America. efloras.org.

Harris, J.G., and M.W. Harris. 2013. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah.

Keator, G. 2009. California Plant Families. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.

Native American Ethnobotany DB.

Regents of the University of California. Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium. University of California, Berkeley.