Mimulus ringens L.
Square-stemmed monkeyflower, Allegheny monkeyflower
The Allegheny monkey flower gets its unusual name from the shape of its flower, fancifully believed to resemble a monkey’s face when squeezed from behind. It is a North American native, and prefers wet areas. The plant shown here was a few feet from a pond, in damp, rich soil.
Plants: 8–39″ (20–100 cm) tall. The stem is hairless and square in cross-section.
Leaves: Opposite, hairless, oblong or sometimes thin and lance-shaped, emerging almost directly from the stem or wrapped partially around it.
Flowers: ¾–1″ (2–3 cm) in size, and bilaterally symmetrical—consisting of two mirror-image halves. The flowers are lavender, blue, red, or pink; with a yellow throat. They have a two-lobed upper lip and a lower larger, three-lobed lip. Flowers emerge in long stems sideways from the main stem.
Fruits: Rounded seed capsule that contains numerous tiny seeds.
Habitats: Streambanks, lake margins, wet meadows; often partially submerged.
Online References:
7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 7″ (15 × 17 cm) 
8/26/2018 · Henry E. Cowdrey Nature Center, Lunenburg, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 16 cm) 
7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm) 
7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 8 × 5″ (19 × 13 cm) 
7/31/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 3½″ (13 × 9.2 cm) 
8/3/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 2½ × 3½″ (6.6 × 9.8 cm) 
7/31/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 22 cm) 
7/31/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 5″ (12 × 13 cm) 
7/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 8.4 cm) 
8/3/2012 · Bemis Rd Conservation Area, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4½ × 3″ (11 × 7.9 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Lamiales | Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary |
| Family | Phrymaceae | Lopseed family |
| Genus | Mimulus | From Greek mimō, “ape” (from the shape of the corolla); historically the genus was “Scrophulariaceae” |
| Species | ringens | “Gaping,” referring to the corolla |
Mimulus ringens description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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