Diplacus jepsonii

Diplacus jepsonii, formerly classified as 'Mimulus nanus'' var. jepsonii,  is a species of monkeyflower known by the common name Jepson's monkeyflower'''.

Description
Diplacus jepsonii is an annual herb producing a thin, erect stem up to about 10 centimeters long. The purple-green leaves are linear to oval in shape and up to 1.4 centimeters in length.

The pinkish purple flower is around a centimeter long, its five-lobed mouth with broad yellow strips and purple spotting. The bloom period is May to June.

Taxonomy
This plant is sometimes nearly identical to Diplacus nanus and can be differentiated from it only by close examination of characteristics such as the arrangement of hairs inside the mouth of the flower.

Distribution and habitat
The plant is native to northern California, western Nevada, and southern Oregon in the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range.

It grows in openings of yellow pine forest, red fir forest, and lodgepole forest habitats, at elevations of 1220 - 2380 m.