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Erythranthe cuprea is a species of monkeyflower also known by the common name flor de cobre (Eng: copper flower). It was formerly known as Mimulus cupreus. Its characteristics in nectar and petal shape are markedly different from other species in this genus found in Chile.
This short-lived perennial is cultivated as an ornamental, and is often treated as an annual. In the horticultural literature it is still referred to as Mimulus cupreus. The cultivar 'Whitecroft Scarlet' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It requires a sheltered spot in reliably moist soil, preferring partial shade.
Petal-color polymorphism is controlled by a single locus; petal and dorsal coloring is co-inherited, indicating single or linked control. The red-copper color of the flowers is caused by a water-soluble pigment, cyanidin, which is an anthocyanin, acquired through a gain-of-function mutation. An unusual feature is that a similar mutation in a different gene has occurred in E. lutea, but "the loci are related through duplication."
Erythranthe cuprea is endemic to central and southern Chile with wet locales such as riverbanks. Several commercial cultivars are available: 'Fire Dragon', 'Fire King', 'Highland Red', 'Inshriach Crimson', 'Plymtree', 'Red Emperor', 'Scarlet Bay', 'Scarlet Bee', 'Whitecroft Scarlet' and 'Wisley Red'. Many of these cultivars are hybrids with Erythranthe lutea or Erythranthe guttata.
Wingstem Monkeyflower · Rockjasmine Monkeyflower · Sand Loving Monkeyflower · Bearded Monkeyflower · Yellow And White Monkeyflower · Short Flowered Monkeyflower · Brewer's Monkeyflower · Erythranthe calciphila · Cardinal monkey flower · Carson Valley monkeyflower · Arizona Big Red Monkeyflower · Coastal Monkeyflower
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Erythranthe cuprea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
