Mimulus ringens

Mimulus ringens is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names Allegheny monkeyflower and square-stemmed monkeyflower.

Mimulus ringens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Phrymaceae
Genus: Mimulus
Species:
M. ringens
Binomial name
Mimulus ringens

It is native to eastern and central North America and has been introduced to the Pacific Northwest.[1][2] It grows in a wide variety of moist to wet habitat types.[3][4] Seeds are available from commercial suppliers.

This is a rhizomatous perennial[3] growing 20 centimetres (7.9 in) to well over 1 meter (3.3 ft) tall, its 4-angled stem usually erect.[4] The oppositely arranged leaves are lance-shaped to oblong, up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) long, usually clasping the stem.[4] The sessile leaves of M. ringens help to distinguish it from its eastern relative, Mimulus alatus,[5] which bears leaves on petioles and has a winged stem. The herbage is hairless.[3] The flower is 1–3 inches (2.5–7.6 cm) long,[3] its tubular base encapsulated in a ribbed calyx of sepals with pointed lobes. The flower is lavender, blue, red or pink in color[3] and is divided into an upper lip and a larger, swollen lower lip.[4]

One variety of this plant, var. colophilus, is rare, ecologically restricted, and vulnerable. It is known from Quebec, it has been reported in Vermont, and there are a few occurrences in Maine, where it grows only in freshwater sections of tidal estuaries.[6] This variety is distinguished by having shorter calyces than the ringens variety and by its short flower pedicels, 1–1.7 centimetres (0.39–0.67 in) long[6] versus a length of 2–3.5 centimetres (0.79–1.38 in) in the nominate subspecies.[4] This plant variety faces several threats, but its current status is not known due to a lack of data.[6][7][8]

References
  1. USDA NRCS National Plant Data Team. "Mimulus ringens L." U.S. Department of Agriculture National Resources Conservation Service. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  2. Giblin, David. "Mimulus ringens". Burke Herbarium Image Collection. University of Washington. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  3. "Mimulus ringens North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". N.C. Cooperative Extension. N.C. State University and N.C. A&T State University. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  4. Fraga, Naomi S. (2018). Jepson Flora Project (ed.). "Mimulus ringens". Jepson eFlora, Revision 6. Regents of the University of California. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  5. "Mimulus ringens Allegheny Monkey Flower". Minnesota Wildflowers. 2022. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  6. "CPC National Collection Plant Profile: Mimulus ringens var. colophilus". Center for Plant Conservation. 4 March 2010. Archived from the original on 27 October 2010.
  7. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service (30 September 1993). "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Review of Plant Taxa for Listing as Endangered or Threatened Species" (PDF). Federal Register. 58 (188): 51176. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  8. "Allegheny Monkeyflower". U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
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