Mimulus , also known as monkeyflowers, is a

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Phrymaceae Phrymaceae, also known as the lopseed family, is a small family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales.Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Phrymaceae" At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Botanical Databases At: Missouri Botanical Garden Websi ...

, which was traditionally placed in family

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

. The genus now contains only seven species, two native to eastern North America and the other five native to Asia, Australia, Africa, or Madagascar. In the past, about 150

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

were placed in this genus, most of which have since been assigned to other genera, the majority to genus ''

Erythranthe ''Erythranthe'', the monkey-flowers and musk-flowers, is a diverse plant genus with more than 120 members (as of 2022) in the family (biology), family Phrymaceae. ''Erythranthe'' was originally described as a separate genus, then generally regar ...

''. ''Mimulus'' species prefer wet or moist areas and are not drought resistant. Several are cultivated as ornamental garden plants. The

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

'Highland Red' has received the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

Name

''Mimulus'' is based on the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''mimus'' ('mimic', especially in the context of acting). This may have to do with the flowers seeming to have grinning faces resembling those of monkeys.

Genetics

The color patterns of ''Mimulus'' flowers are determined by an inverted repeat in the YELLOW UPPER (YUP) genetic locus. YUP causes production of phase-patterned siRNAs that regulate color

carotenoids Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic compound, organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and Fungus, fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips ...

. YUP itself evolved from a fragment of a

cytochrome Cytochromes are redox-active proteins containing a heme, with a central iron (Fe) atom at its core, as a cofactor. They are involved in the electron transport chain and redox catalysis. They are classified according to the type of heme and its ...

protein unrelated to flower coloration.

Taxonomy

Before the 2012 restructuring, two large groups of species had long been recognized in the genus ''Mimulus'' as it was traditionally defined, with the largest group of species in western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, and a second group with

center of diversity A Vavilov center or center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Nikolai Vavilov. Vavilov posite ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In the 2012 restructuring of ''Mimulus'' by Barker, et al., based largely upon DNA evidence, seven species were left in ''Mimulus'', 111 placed into ''

'' (species with axile

placentation Placentation is the formation, type and structure, or modes of arrangement of the placenta. The function of placentation is to transfer nutrients, respiratory gases, and water from maternal tissue to a growing embryo, and in some instances to re ...

and long

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

s), 46 placed into ''

Diplacus ''Diplacus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Phrymaceae, which was traditionally placed in family Scrophulariaceae. It includes 49 species native to the western United States and northwestern Mexico. Most prefer dry and rocky areas. ...

'' (species with parietal placentation and sessile flowers), two placed in ''

Uvedalia ''Uvedalia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Phrymaceae, native to Australia. It was resurrected from ''Mimulus Mimulus , also known as monkeyflowers, is a plant genus in the family (biology), family Phrymaceae, which was tradit ...

'', and one each placed in ''Elacholoma'', ''

Mimetanthe ''Mimetanthe'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Phrymaceae. It has only one species, ''Mimetanthe pilosa'', synonym ''Mimulus pilosus'', known by the common names false monkeyflower and downy mimetanthe. It is native to the western Un ...

'', and ''

Thyridia ''Thyridia'' is a monotypic genus of clearwing ( ithomiine) butterflies, named by Jacob Hübner in 1816. Its only species is ''Thyridia psidii'', the Melantho tigerwing or clapping ticlear. It is in the brush-footed butterfly family, Nymphalidae ...

''. Removal of ''Mimulus'' from family Scrophulariaceae has been supported by studies of

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle, organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant cell, plant and algae, algal cells. Chloroplasts have a high concentration of chlorophyll pigments which captur ...

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

first published in the mid-1990s. Multiple studies of chloroplast DNA and two regions of nuclear rDNA suggest that the genera ''

Phryma ''Phryma'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Phrymaceae, native to temperate Asia and eastern North America. Taxonomy The genus ''Phryma'' was erected by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 with the sole species '' Phryma leptostachya''. The Japane ...

, Berendtiella,

Hemichaena ''Hemichaena'' is a plant genus in the family (biology), family Phrymaceae, which was traditionally placed in family Scrophulariaceae. In the 2012 restructuring of ''Mimulus'' by Barker, et al., based largely upon DNA evidence, only seven specie ...

, Leucocarpus, Microcarpeae, Peplidium, Glossostigma, and Elacholoma'' are all derived from within ''Mimulus'' and would need to be rearranged.

Species of ''Mimulus'' sensu stricto

The species remaining in ''Mimulus'' are: * '' Mimulus alatus'' – Sharpwing monkey-flower (eastern North America) * '' Mimulus aquatilis'' – (Queensland, Australia) * '' Mimulus gracilis'' – (Australia) * '' Mimulus madagascariensis'' – (Madagascar) * '' Mimulus orbicularis'' – (Bangladesh to Myanmar, central Thailand and Vietnam) * ''

Mimulus ringens ''Mimulus ringens'' is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names Allegheny monkeyflower and square-stemmed monkeyflower. It is native to eastern and central North America and has been introduced to the Pacific Northwest. It grows in a ...

'' – Allegheny monkey-flower, square-stemmed monkey-flower (eastern North America) * '' Mimulus strictus'' – (Africa, India and Australia)

References

External links

Mimulus Database - for genetics researchersMimulus Genome Browser - for genetics researchers
{{Taxonbar , from=Q159372 Lamiales genera