Mimulus

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"Monkey-flower" and variants redirect here. The term is also used for Common Toadflax and other snapdragon-like Lamiales.

Mimulus

Mimulus lewisii

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Subclass:	Asteridae
(unranked)	Euasterids I
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Phrymaceae
Genus:	Mimulus Linnaeus

Species

Presently some 150, but see text.

Synonyms

See text

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 published in the mid-1990s^{[citation needed]}. Multiple studies of chloroplast DNA and two regions of nuclear rDNA^{[citation needed]} suggest that the genera Phryma, Berendtiella, Hemichaena, Leucocarpus, Microcarpeae, Peplidium, Glossostigma, and Elacholoma are all derived from within Mimulus and would need to be rearranged.

It is recognized that there are two large groups of Mimulus species, with the largest group of species in western North America, and a second group with center of diversity in Australia. A few species also extend into eastern North America, eastern Asia and southern Africa. This enlarged group is a part of the newly redefined Phrymaceae.

1 Characteristics
2 Uses and ecology
3 Selected species of Mimulus senso lato
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Most of the species are annuals or herbaceous perennials, but a few species are subshrubs with woody stems; these are treated in the section Diplacus. Diplacus is clearly derived from within Mimulus s.l. and was not usually considered to be generically distinct. Hence, it would not be treated as a genus separate from Mimulus now, though it might become a section of a yet-to-be defined split from Mimulus s.str.. A large number of the species grow in moist to wet soils with some growing even in shallow water. Some species produce copious amounts of aromatic compounds, giving them a musky odor (hence "musk-flowers").

Mimulus are called monkey-flowers because some species have flowers shaped like a monkeys face,^[1] others have painted faces resembling a monkey. The generic name, Latin mimus meaning "mimic actor", from the Greek mimos meaning "imitator" also references this. The stem of Mimulus^{[verification needed]} can be either smooth or hairy, and this trait is determined by a simple allelic difference. At least M. lewisii is known to possess "flypaper-type" traps and is apparently protocarnivorous, supplementing its nutrients with small insects.

Mimulus cv. 'Jack'

In horticulture, several species, cultivars and hybrids are used. Most important are those derived from M. bigelovii stock, a species with large, spread-out flowers. One of the standard Bach flower remedies is derived from Mimulus^{[verification needed]}; some species are also used in folk medicine.

Several taxa, namely the yellow monkey-flowers (M. guttatus and relatives) and the section Erythranthe (including e.g. M. lewisii, M. cardinalis and M. parishii) are model organisms for research in ecology, genetics and genomics. The genome sequence of Mimulus guttatus is being released since late Spring, 2007.

Mimulus is used as food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, e.g. the Mouse Moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis). For a list of Mimulus pathogens, see List of mimulus, monkey-flower diseases.