Mimulus ringens (Allegheny Monkey Flower): Minnesota Wildflowers

Mimulus ringens (Allegheny Monkey Flower)

Plant Info
Also known as:	Blue Monkey-flower
Genus:	Mimulus
Family:	Phrymaceae (Lopseed)
Life cycle:	perennial
Origin:	native
Habitat:	part shade, sun; wet, along shores, swamps
Bloom season:	June - September
Plant height:	1 to 3 feet
County distribution (click map to enlarge):
Spotted in Ramsey County at:	Long Lake Regional Park Rice Creek Trail Corridor Vadnais/Snail Lake Regional Park

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Detailed Information

Flower:

Irregular blue-violet flower, occasionally pink or white, 1 inch across. The upper lip is divided into 2 erect lobes and the lower lip has 3 rounded lobes. At the base of the middle lobe are 2 pale yellow to white spots. A whorl of sepals about 1 inch long with 5 long teeth form a tube behind the flower. The flowers arise on longish stalks from the leaf axils. One plant may have many flowers.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are 2 to 4 inches long, ½ to 1 inch wide, with fine widely spaced teeth, tapering to a point at the tip, the rounded leaf base clasping the stem. Leaves and the square stem are both hairless. Leaf attachment is opposite.

Notes:

This one is easy to ID, as there is nothing else like it in Minnesota, though a similar species with stalked leaves is native a bit farther east. Mimulus is one of the species that was formerly in the Scrophulariaceae (Figwort) family and is now in Phrymaceae (Lopseed). There are 2 varieties of M. ringens in North America; var. ringens found in Minnesota.

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More photos

Photos by K. Chayka taken at various locations in Ramsey and Anoka counties. Photos courtesy Peter M. Dziuk taken in Anoka County.

Comments

Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?

Posted by: Mary P.
on: 2008-06-08 17:13:53

Another wild flower I've seen on my walks by the Mississippi River in Stearns County that I did not know the name of. Now I can name the photos I took of it last year.

Posted by: Paula H.
on: 2008-09-04 16:37:18

Is this plant (monkey flower) only in purple? I have recently seen quite a few that look similar to this only they are yellow. Are they the same plant? I looked at your site under the yello flowers and didn't see anything that was as close as this one is. I found it in Jordan, MN. Believe it or not at the Water Treatment Plant because it is the ideal place to walk my very large, ambitious dog. many beautiful plants growing there though!

Posted by: K. Chayka
on: 2008-09-04 18:05:52

Yes, there is at least 1 species of yellow monkey flower that should be growing in various places around Minnesota, including the Twin Cities area: Mimulus glabratus. I haven't seen it myself, but I know it has to be here somewhere. A water treatment plant sounds like the perfect place for these moisture-loving plants to grow. :)

Posted by: K. R. in Benton County
on: 2009-07-18 17:45:03

I found this on the side of a trail through my woods. I hadn't seen it before and brought it in to identify it from one of my books. I was unable to find it there, and found it here! Thank you for helping me identify another wildflower on my property.

Posted by: Kristy in Redwood County
on: 2011-07-14 13:50:22

Found in a wet, fen-like area in a rock out-crop. Large group, blooming today, 14 July 2011.

Posted by: Heather in Lindstrom, MN (Chisago County)
on: 2011-08-09 21:27:54

I found this plant blooming today in a drainage ditch in my back yard that is always wet. I have been working this area into a wetland garden and I am always on the look out for natives that just show up like this one.