Mimulus alatus
Mimulus alatus, the sharpwing monkeyflower, is an herbaceous eudicot perennial that has no floral scent. It is native to North America and its blooming season is from June to September. The flowering plant has green foliage and blue to violet flowers. It has a short life span compared to most other plants and a rapid growth rate. Like other monkey-flowers of the genus Mimulus, M. alatus grows best in wet to moist conditions and has a bilabiate corolla, meaning it is two-lipped. The arrangement of the upper and lower lip petals suggests a monkey’s face. The winged stems together with the monkey face give the plant its common name. Taxonomy The genus Mimulus has been removed from Scrophulariaceae and placed in the family Phrymaceae. In the 1990s, DNA sequences from chloroplast and nuclear genomes showed that Mimulus is not monophyletic; Glossostigma, Peplidium, Phryma, Leucocarpus, Hemichaena, and Berendtiella are all derived from Mimulus. As a result, Mimulus and its derived genera have been placed into the subfamily Phrymoideae and the family Phrymaceae. Distribution Mimulus alatus is a native species to eastern North America; its range stretches from Connecticut, down south to Florida and extends as far west as Nebraska and Texas.