Mimulus gracilipes
Encyclopedia
Mimulus gracilipes is an uncommon species of monkeyflower
known by the common name slenderstalk monkeyflower.
, where it is known only from a section of the central Sierra Nevada foothills.
. This petite wildflower grows no taller than about 8 centimeters. The fuzzy stem has a few pairs of oppositely arranged reddish-green oval leaves each up to about a centimeter long.
The tubular throat of the flower is encapsulated in a hairy red calyx of sepal
s. The pink flower is no more than a centimeter long and wide. The upper lip has two notched lobes and the wider lower lip has three.
Mimulus
Mimulus is a diverse plant genus, the monkey-flowers and musk-flowers. The about 150 species are currently placed in the family Phrymaceae. The genus has traditionally been placed in Scrophulariaceae. The removal of Mimulus from that family has been supported by studies of chloroplast DNA first...
known by the common name slenderstalk monkeyflower.
Distribution
It is endemic to CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is known only from a section of the central Sierra Nevada foothills.
Description
This annual herb has a scattered distribution, sometimes only growing after a habitat disturbance such as wildfireWildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
. This petite wildflower grows no taller than about 8 centimeters. The fuzzy stem has a few pairs of oppositely arranged reddish-green oval leaves each up to about a centimeter long.
The tubular throat of the flower is encapsulated in a hairy red calyx of sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s. The pink flower is no more than a centimeter long and wide. The upper lip has two notched lobes and the wider lower lip has three.