288 BKECK'S NEW BOOK OF FLOWERS. 



MIMULTTS. MONKEY-FLOWER. 



[From the Greek for ape, in allusion to the gaping corolla.] 



The species are showy plants of the easiest culture in 

 almost any soil or situation. They are perennials in the 

 green-house, where they are easily propagated from cut- 

 tings or from seed. In the open ground they are annu- 

 als, flowering profusely from seed the same season. I 

 have known them to stand through the winter, when cov- 

 ered with ice and snow most of the season. The seeds 

 are very small, and require considerable attention to get 

 them to vegetate. I have known seeds, self-sown in au- 

 tumn, to come up freely in the spring, commencing to 

 flower in June, and continuing in bloom till October. 

 They succeed best in a moist soil, partially shaded. 



Mimulus luteus. From this species, sometimes called 

 J/I rivularis, a great number of beautiful varieties have 

 been produced. The flowers are tubular, with wide- 

 spreading segments ; the ground color, all shades of yel- 

 low, from light straw to deep-orange, beautifully spotted 

 or blotched with crimson or scarlet. On some varieties 

 there is a large blotch or spot on each segment of the 

 corolla, while the throat of the plant is beautifully spot- 

 ted or mottled. It is a flower very much given to sport- 

 ing. The following remarkable account of the success in 

 the cultivation of this plant is detailed in an English 

 paper : 



* This plant delights in a rich, moist soil, mixed with 

 sand, and if it be a little shady it is beneficial ; the colors 

 of the flower are better, and the plant more vigorous. A 

 free supply of water is necessary, in order to grow it suc- 

 cessfully. I have had a single plant grow three feet and 

 one-half high, and be six feet in circumference, producing 

 a vast profusion of flowers, most amply repaying the 

 little extra attention paid to its culture. When I obtained 

 this plant at first, I was instructed to grow it in a small, 



