SCROPHULARIACEAE 



FIGWORT FAMILY 



MONKEY FLOWER 



Mimulus ring ens L. 



The Monkey Flower is so called because the corolla seems to 

 be grinning as a monkey might. It is common in swamps, along 

 streams and in other wet places from Nova Scotia to Virginia and 

 Tennessee, west to Mani- 

 toba, Nebraska and 

 Texas. 



It is perennial by un- 

 derground stems, and 

 the whole plant is 

 smooth. The square aer- 

 ial stems are 1-3 feet high 

 and usu ally much 

 branched. The opposite 

 leaves are sessile and 

 usually the upper clasp 

 the stem at the base. 



Violet flowers are pro- 

 duced from June to Sep- 

 tember singly in the axils 

 of the leaves. The ped- 

 uncles are at least twice 

 as long as the 5-angled and 5-toothed calyx. The corolla, 

 2-lipped at the end, is tubular and has a pair of ridges within 

 on the lower side. The upper lip consists of 2 lobes that are turned 

 back, and the lower lip has 3 rounded lobes. The 4 stamens 

 are inserted in pairs on the corolla tube. The style is very slender 

 and the stigma is 2-lobed. The fruit is a many-seeded capsule. 



The Wing-stemmed Monkey Flower, Mimulus alatus Ait., which 

 may be found in Illinois swamps along with the Monkey Flower, has 

 a more sharply angled and winged stem, and all the leaves are 

 petioled. The calyx teeth are less than one-quarter the length of the 

 calyx and the peduncles are shorter than the calyx. 



The Yellow Monkey Flower, Mimulus glabratus HBK. yar. 

 Jamesii (T. & G.) Gray, likewise prefers cool brooks, ponds or springs 

 but is very local and may be restricted to the northern half ot the 

 state. It may be recognized by the bright yellow axillary flowers, 

 one-half inch long and with the throat of the very irregular 2-lipped 

 corolla bearded and somewhat open. The smooth stems are pros- 

 trate, much branched and rooting at the nodes. The membranous 

 leaves are nearly round and palmately veined, the lower petioled. 



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