Mimulus ringens
Plant species in the lopseed family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mimulus ringens is a species of monkeyflower known by the common names Allegheny monkeyflower and square-stemmed monkeyflower.
| Mimulus ringens | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Phrymaceae |
| Genus: | Mimulus |
| Species: | M. ringens |
| Binomial name | |
| Mimulus ringens | |
| Varieties | |
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It is native to eastern and central North America and has been introduced to the Pacific Northwest.[2][3] It grows in a wide variety of moist to wet habitat types.[4][5] Seeds are available from commercial suppliers.
This is a rhizomatous perennial[4] growing 20 centimetres (7.9 in) to well over 1 meter (3.3 ft) tall, its 4-angled stem usually erect.[5] The oppositely arranged leaves are lance-shaped to oblong, up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) long, usually clasping the stem.[5] The sessile leaves of M. ringens help to distinguish it from its eastern relative, Mimulus alatus,[6] which bears leaves on petioles and has a winged stem. The herbage is hairless.[4] The flower is 1–3 inches (2.5–7.6 cm) long,[4] its tubular base encapsulated in a ribbed calyx of sepals with pointed lobes. The flower is lavender, blue, red or pink in color[4] and is divided into an upper lip and a larger, swollen lower lip.[5]
Taxonomy
Mimulus ringens was given its scientific name in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus. It is classified in the family Phrymaceae together with its genus, Mimulus. It has two accepted varieties.[7]
- Mimulus ringens var. colpophilus
This variety 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.[8] This variety is distinguished by having shorter calyces than the ringens variety and by its short flower pedicels, 1–1.7 centimetres (0.39–0.67 in) long[8] versus a length of 2–3.5 centimetres (0.79–1.38 in) in the nominate subspecies.[5] This plant variety faces several threats, but its current status is not known due to a lack of data.[8][9][10] - Mimulus ringens var. ringens
The autonymic variety has a widespread native range in eastern North America and has also been introduced to Europe. It also has nine heterotypic synonyms.[11]
| Name | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Mimulus acutangulus Greene | 1909 | species |
| Mimulus minthodes Greene | 1909 | species |
| Mimulus pallidus Salisb. | 1796 | species |
| Mimulus pteropus Raf. | 1817 | species |
| Mimulus ringens f. albiflorus Moldenke | 1944 | form |
| Mimulus ringens var. congesta Farw. | 1917 | variety |
| Mimulus ringens var. minthodes (Greene) A.L.Grant | 1924 | variety |
| Mimulus ringens f. peckii House | 1923 | form |
| Mimulus ringens f. roseus Fassett | 1943 | form |
