Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 309 



MONKEY FLOWER (Mimulus ringens) is a very 

 appropriate name for this strange looking flower. 

 Viewed from in front, the plaits and twists of the 

 corolla are such that one can easily imagine that a 

 little blue ape is grinning at him from among the 

 leaves. The plant is a perennial with a smooth, 

 square, hollow stem growing from one to three feet 

 in height and branching considerably. The leaves, 

 seated oppositely on the stem, are lance-shaped, 

 pointed and slightly toothed. The flowers are few in 

 number and are on long, slender pedicels from the 

 axils of the upper leaves. They open one or two at a 

 time. The pale purple flowers have two large lips, 

 the upper divided into two lobes and the lower one 

 into three, all broad and wavy. Four white stamens 

 and a pistil nearly fill the throat, at the mouth of 

 which are two bright orange-yellow spots. 



A small store of nectar is secreted in the base of 

 the flower tube. The double, yellow palate serves to 

 close the entrance to the tube so that small useless 

 insects may not be allowed to partake of the sweets 

 within. When, however, the burly bumblebee alights 

 upon the lower lip, his weight causes it to droop and 

 allow easy access to its meager supply of nectar. He 

 does not get it, though, without paying the price the 

 flower asks, that he bear away some of its precious 

 pollen on his head and shoulders, to deposit at the en- 

 trance of the next blossom visited. Butterflies also 

 sometimes visit the flowers, but without any resulting 

 benefit to the latter, for their long, slender tongues 

 readily pass down the throat of the flower and drain 

 the honey-cup without their faces coming in contact 

 with the anthers. Each flower is more or less adapt- 

 ed to certain classes of insects and endeavors, but not 

 always with success, to erect barriers to keep away 

 c ther kinds. Monkey flower is found in wet places 

 from N. B. to Manitoba and southwards. 



