Plant Name
Scientific Name: Mimulus cardinalis
Synonyms: Diplacus cardinalis, Erythranthe cardinalis, Mimulus verbenaceus
Common Names: Scarlet Monkeyflower, Cardinal Monkey-flower, Crimson Monkey Flower
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Riparian. This wildflower mainly grows along streams and in other moist or wet places in the mountains, but it can sometimes be found at lower elevations.
Flower Color: Orange to red-orange, Red
Flowering Season: Spring, Summer
Height: Up to 2 1/2 feet (76 cm) tall
Description: The flowers have yellow, projecting stamens and are tubular, 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, and 2-lipped with a narrow, arched forward upper lip and a broad, 3-lobed, reflexed lower lip. The leaves are green, hairy, toothed, opposite, oblong to egg-shaped, and longitudinally veined with 3 to 5 main veins. The upper leaves clasp the stems. The stems are upright to decumbent.
The similar Eastwood's Monkeyflower (Mimulus eastwoodiae) is found only in the northeastern part of Arizona.
Special Characteristics
Butterfly Plant – The flowers attract butterflies.
Hummingbird Flower – Hummingbirds visit the flowers.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Scrophulariales
Family: Scrophulariaceae – Figwort family
Genus: Mimulus L. – monkeyflower
Species: Mimulus cardinalis Douglas ex Benth. – scarlet monkeyflower
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