''Mimulus ringens'' is a species of

monkeyflower Monkey flower can refer to: *Several genera of plant family Phrymaceae, including: ** '' Diplacus'' ** '' Erythranthe'' ** '' Mimulus'' *Various snapdragon-like Lamiales, including: ** '' Linaria vulgaris'' ** '' Phyllocarpus septentrionalis'', mon ...

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 The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. It grows in a wide variety of moist to wet habitat types. Seeds are available from commercial suppliers. This is a

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow h ...

perennial growing to well over tall, its 4-angled stem usually erect. The oppositely arranged leaves are lance-shaped to oblong, up to long, usually clasping the stem. The sessile leaves of ''M. ringens'' help to distinguish it from its eastern relative, ''

Mimulus alatus ''Mimulus alatus'', the sharpwing monkeyflower, is an herbaceous eudicot perennial that has no floral scent. It is native to North America and its blooming season is from June to September. The flowering plant has green foliage and blue ...

'', which bears leaves on petioles and has a winged stem. The herbage is hairless. The flower is long, its tubular base encapsulated in a ribbed calyx of

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s with pointed lobes. The flower is lavender, blue, red or pink in color and is divided into an upper lip and a larger, swollen lower lip. One variety of this plant, var. ''colophilus'', is rare,

ecologically Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

restricted, and vulnerable. It is known from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, it has been reported in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

, and there are a few occurrences in

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

, where it grows only in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does in ...

sections of tidal

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environme ...

. This variety is distinguished by having shorter calyces than the ''ringens'' variety and by its short flower pedicels, long versus a length of in the nominate subspecies. This plant variety faces several threats, but its current status is not known due to a lack of data.

References

External links

*
University of California, Berkeley CalPhotos
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6862437 ringens Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the United States Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of Canada Flora without expected TNC conservation status