What a clown

Mimulus guttatus, June 30, 2023

Common & scientific name

Yellow monkeyflower, Mimulus guttatus & tilingii

Family

Lopseed, Phrymaceae

Location

Aspen grove below Highway 82, 8,600’

Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact

This cheery yellow wildflower can be found along streams, seeps, or ditches from the montane to the alpine. “Mimulus” comes from “mimus,” meaning “buffoon," for the clownish appearance of its flower. This flower is another Snapdragon castaway, into an entirely new family, the “Lopseeds” (per Ackerman), which is a first to me. The subalpine/alpine version is shorter with creeping rhizomes.

Mimulus tilingii, Ruby area, 12,000’, August 4, 2023