Monday, September 10, 2012

Allegheny Monkeyflower (Mimulus ringens)


August 18th, 2012. When we drove by the swamps on Enoch John Road in Wilkes County on August 11th, it had just rained heavily. I spotted a new (for me) wildflower blooming on the south side of the eastern approach to the swamp. The flowers had been damaged badly by the rain but there were some buds ready to open. The photos I took allowed me to identify them as a monkeyflower.
Two monkeyflower species – Mimulus alatus and Mimulus ringens – occur in Georgia. They are differentiated by the fact that the leaves of M. alatus have petioles (stalks) and the leaves of M. ringens are sessile (no stalks). This species is M. ringens.

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Two views of the plants, probably not more than a dozen or so.

 The leaves are clearly sessile, indicating that this is Mimulus ringens rather than Mimulus alatus.

 A bud

A flower, from the front,

 in profile,

from above, and

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From left and right sides. Which is my best side?

Mimulus ringens (Allegheny monkeyflower, Square-stemmed Monkey Flower. Monkeyflower) is native to the United States, where it’s found in most states in the continental US with the exception of Florida, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. In Georgia, it’s found in many counties in the north of the state.
Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:
Southeastern Flora: 

Name that Plant: Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia:
- Mimulus alatus (Winged Monkey-flower, Sharpwing MonkeyFlower)

Missouri Plants:
- Mimulus alatus 
 
Illinois Wild Flowers: 
Distribution:
United States Department of Agriculture Plants Database:
 
University of North Carolina Herbarium: 

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