Seep monkeyflowers (Erythranthe guttata) grow faster and larger if they receive more water. This is a single seep monkeyflower plant that grew in a nearly year-round mud puddle. Photo by queerbychoice.Monkeyflowers are flowering plants in several genera of the Lopseed family (Phrymaceae). Some are herbaceous annuals or perennials, while others are shrubs. Most of them prefer to grow in shaded spots or with constant access to water. Monkeyflower leaves are a favorite food for the caterpillars of the local variable checkerspot and common buckeye butterflies.

Four species of monkeyflowers are native to West Sacramento.

The Seep Monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata) is an annual or perennial herb native to all parts of Woodland. It has yellow flowers with deep red dots around the throat. It is always a wetlands plant, usually growing along streams or seeps, and sometimes even as an aquatic, floating plant in water that is up to two feet deep. It can grow as much as five feet tall when growing in water but is more commonly seen at about one foot tall in muddy seeps. It is ideal for filtering water in small homemade ponds, and it can also be easily grown in pots that do not have any drainage holes, because it does not need any drainage and is better off never drying out.

The Tricolor Monkeyflower (Diplacus tricolor) is a six-inch-tall annual herb native to all parts of Woodland. Its flowers are predominantly pink, with yellow, white, and deep red markings at the throat. It is always a wetlands plant, usually growing in seasonal wetlands such as vernal pools.

The Broad-Toothed Monkeyflower (Erythranthe latidens) is a one-foot-tall annual herb native to all parts of Woodland. Its flowers can be pink, white, or yellow. It is always a wetlands plant, usually growing in seasonal wetlands such as vernal pools.

The Snouted Monkeyflower (Mimetanthe pilosa) is a one-foot-tall annual herb native to all parts of Woodland. It has yellow flowers, sometimes with a few dots of deep red around the throat.  It is usually a wetlands plant but can also grow in dry, disturbed habitats.

Monkeyflowers native to other parts of Yolo County include Sticky Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus), which is native to southeastern Woodland, northwestern Davis, and most of the county westward of those cities; Kellogg's Monkeyflower (Diplacus kelloggii), which is native to the Yolo County foothills (including the Capay Hills) plus a small area around Madison; Scarlet Monkeyflower (Erythranthe cardinalis), Bare Monkeyflower (Erythranthe nudata), Layne's Monkeyflower (Diplacus layneae), and Bolander's Monkeyflower (Diplacus bolanderi), all four of which are native to the Yolo County foothills (including the Capay Hills); and Many-Flowered Monkeyflower (Erythranthe floribunda), Littleleaf Monkeyflower (Erythranthe microphylla), and Congdon's Monkeyflower (Diplacus congdonii), all three of which are native to the Yolo County foothills, excluding the Capay Hills.