Mimulus ringens
Encyclopedia
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 there are occurrences in the western United States, some of which may represent introductions
. It grows in a wide variety of wet habitat types.
This is rhizomatous
perennial growing 20 centimeters to well over a meter tall, its 4-angled stem usually erect. The oppositely arranged leaves are lance-shaped to oblong, up to 8 centimeters long, and sometimes joined or nearly so clasping the stem. The herbage is hairless. The flower 2 to 3 centimeters long, its tubular base encapsulated in a ribbed calyx of sepal
s with pointed lobes. The flower is lavender in color and divided into an upper lip and a larger, swollen lower lip.
One variety of this plant, var. colophilus, is rare, ecologically
restricted, and vulnerable. It is known from Quebec
, it has been reported in Vermont
, and there are a few occurrences in Maine
, where it grows only in freshwater
sections of tidal estuaries
. This plant variety faces several threats, but its current status is not known due to a lack of data.
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 names Allegheny monkeyflower and square-stemmed monkeyflower.
It is native to eastern and central North America, and there are occurrences in the western United States, some of which may represent introductions
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. It grows in a wide variety of wet habitat types.
This is rhizomatous
Rhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
perennial growing 20 centimeters to well over a meter tall, its 4-angled stem usually erect. The oppositely arranged leaves are lance-shaped to oblong, up to 8 centimeters long, and sometimes joined or nearly so clasping the stem. The herbage is hairless. The flower 2 to 3 centimeters long, its tubular base encapsulated in a ribbed 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 with pointed lobes. The flower is lavender in color and divided into an upper lip and a larger, swollen lower lip.
One variety of this plant, var. colophilus, is rare, ecologically
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
restricted, and vulnerable. It is known from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, it has been reported in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, and there are a few occurrences in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, where it grows only in freshwater
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
sections of tidal estuaries
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
. This plant variety faces several threats, but its current status is not known due to a lack of data.