logo Calflora, a 501c3 non-profit
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).
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
Observation Search
~70 records in California
yellowone or more occurrences
within a 7.5-minute quadrangle
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
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:
JEFMimulus purpureus var. pauxillus
JEFMimulus purpureus var. purpureus
JEF + CNPSMimulus 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

[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)


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: 05/23/2025).