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Allegheny Monkeyflower

Mimulus ringens

Also known as: Square-stemmed Monkeyflower

Allegheny monkeyflower holds pairs of two-lipped purple flowers in the leaf axils up a distinctly square stem — run a thumb along it and the four ridges are unmistakable. The lower lip carries pale nectar guides that steer bumblebees into the throat, and the stigma is touch-sensitive, folding shut within seconds of contact so that pollen just delivered is not scraped back off as the bee leaves. It wants ground that never dries: pond margins, ditches, wet meadows and rain gardens, where it will take standing water for weeks at a stretch. Bloom runs from midsummer into early fall, a long stretch for a wetland forb, and it self-sows freely into bare wet mud. It is a larval host for the common buckeye. Deer generally leave it alone.

Family

Phrymaceae

Type

wildflower

Lifespan

perennial

Height

1–3 ft

Spacing

0.75–1 ft apart

Light

sun

Soil moisture

moist, wet

Soil pH

acidic, neutral

Bloom

June, July, August, September

Bloom colors

red, pink, blue, purple

Wildlife value

butterflies, larval host

Landscape uses

border, naturalizing, rain garden

Native states

AL, AR, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WA, WI, WV