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Mimulus

Mimulus

1 9.9
A group of flowering plants called monkeyflowers with bright, often spotted blooms
  • proper noun
  • Specialized
: Mímulo
  • Several species of Mimulus thrive in wetland habitats across North America.
  • monkey flower Mimulus
  • flower Mimulus

Examples

  • The golden monkey flower, Mimulus, adds vibrant colors to the garden in spring.

  • You can find a variety of Mimulus plants with unique spotting on their blooms.

  • The bare monkey flower (Mimulus nudatus) is listed as vulnerable in the Natural Heritage database.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Pollinator preference and the evolution of floral traits in monkeyflowers (Mimulus).

    Blog text (4)

  • More than half of the 89 Mimulus species are rare, as are more than half the species of the two other large genera (i.e., with more than 35 species) in the family Scrophulariaceae.

    Academic text (1998)

Surface Forms

Mimulus main
Mimulus main

Etymology

Mimulus comes from the Latin word mimus 'actor' plus the small ending -ulus, so it literally means 'little mimic'. The flowers look like tiny faces or little monkeys, which is why the whole group of plants is called Mimulus, or monkeyflowers.