Scientific name Mimulus bicolor Rank Species | Genus Erythranthe Higher classification Mimulus | |
Similar Mimulus, Diplacus torreyi, Diplacus layneae | ||
Erythranthe bicolor is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name yellow and white monkeyflower. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the mountains and foothills from the Klamath Range through the Sierra to the Tehachapi Mountains. It grows in moist or wet areas, often on clay soils. It was formerly known as Mimulus bicolor.
This is an annual herb producing a hairy, erect stem 4 to 27 centimeters tall. The linear to nearly oval leaves are each up to 3 centimeters long and arranged in opposite pairs about the stem. The tubular base of the flower is surrounded by a reddish-green freckled calyx of sepals with small, pointed lobes. The flower corolla is one to two centimeters long and divided into two lips. These vary in color but often the upper lip is white and the lower is yellow. The upper lip has two lobes, the lower three, and each lobe has two sub-lobes at its tip.