MUSK (Mimulus moschatus, Dougl.). Flowers light yellow, 

 brownish in the throat, 2-lipped, inch to an inch long, much 

 exceeding the calyx; usually borne in pairs on slender foot- 

 stalks from the upper leaf-axils. Leaves light green, opposite, 

 ovate, an inch or two long, the basal crowded. A white-hairy, 

 sticky, often slimy plant, musk-scented, ^ to 1| feet high, 

 spreading by creeping perennial rootstalks; common in damp, 

 shady places, particularly along brooks from California to 

 British Columbia and eastward to Utah. Blooming in spring 

 and summer. In California and Oregon the form usually 

 found is var. longiflorus, distinguished by the elongated cor- 

 olla, often an inch long, 3 times the length of the calyx, and 

 flower stalks exceeding the leaves. 



This is the well-known Musk plant of old-fashioned gardens, 

 collected by David Douglas in Oregon in 1826, and by him in- 

 troduced to the world. 



An interesting feature of the various species of Mimulus is 

 the pistil. The stigma is composed of tw r o flat plates, spread 

 apart when the flower is mature. These are sensitive and 

 close when touched, as on the visit of an insect, and are sup- 

 posed to play a part in cross-fertilization. 



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