Mimulus cardinalis – Scarlet Monkeyflower

Mimulus cardinalis - Scarlet Monkeyflower, Cardinal Monkey-flower, Crimson Monkey Flower (orange flower)

Mimulus cardinalis - Scarlet Monkeyflower, Cardinal Monkey-flower, Crimson Monkey Flower

Mimulus cardinalis - Scarlet Monkeyflower, Cardinal Monkey-flower, Crimson Monkey Flower

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

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map