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| Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) in Mother Nature's Garden of Health |
October
is traditionally a dry month in Southern California gardens. While water-wise plants are mostly dormant,
some natives are still green and even producing a flower or two. One such plant is the Scarlet monkeyflower, Mimulus cardinalis. We have one, with a few fall blooms, in
Mother Nature’s Garden of Health.
Scarlet
monkeyflower is native to the Western United States from Southern Oregon to
Baja California, Mexico and as far east as Nevada, Utah and western New
Mexico. In California, it grows
throughout the California Floristic Province (west of the Sierra Nevada Range),
as well as in the desert mountains (Providence, White, Inyo and Panamint
Mountains).
Like
the other moisture-loving monkeyflowers, Mimulus
cardinalis grows in wet or moist places like stream banks, seeps and
seasonal wetlands below 8000 ft. (2500 m.) elevation. Locally it still grows in the Santa Monica
Mountains, on Santa Catalina Island and in the San Gabriel Mountains. It once also grew along the banks of the Los
Angeles River and its tributaries.
Scarlet
monkeyflower, along with other native Mimulus
and Diplacus species, was formerly located
in the family Scrophulariaceae (the Figworts) and is still placed there
by the USDA Plants database [1]. Recent
molecular genetic studies have radically changed our notions about this family.
Many taxonomists now place Mimulus
and Diplacus in the family Phrymaceae,
the Lopseeds. Formerly a small, obscure
family, the Phrymaceae are now considered to include over 200 species, mostly
native to North America and Australia. Most
favor moist conditions and several are widely cultivated as garden flowers.
The genus Mimulus has also undergone recent taxonomic revision. As it currently stands, the herbaceous,
moisture-loving California Monkeyflowers (annuals and perennials) are usually called
Mimulus and the part-woody,
drought-tolerant species are now placed in the genus Diplacus. Some taxonomists have argued that the N. American herbaceous
species deserve their own genus, Erythranthe.
Whatever the outcome, evolving names cause lots
of confusion in the horticultural trade. The name Mimulus cardinalis is widely used in California, and we’ll use that
name here – at least for the present. For more on the early botany of this
species see reference 2. The USDA Plants
database separates out plants growing in N. AZ and Colorado as Mimulus eastwoodiae, honoring Alice
Eastwood [1]. If you’d like to learn
more about the amazing life of California botanist Alice Eastwood see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/alice-eastwood-2015
.
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| Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) - herbaceous perennial |
Scarlet
monkeyflower is an herbaceous perennial, standing 1-3 ft. (0.3 to 1 m.) to
perhaps 4 ft. tall, with a spread of 2-4 ft.
Plants may be erect (in sun) or more sprawling in shadier
locations. A mature plant will have many
stems. The leaves are opposite, roughly oval shaped, usually with strongly
toothed margins and 3-5 prominent veins.
The foliage is yellow-green to
medium green (occasionally darker), very hairy and sticky. If you look closely, you can see both the small,
soft hairs and the secretory glands in the photo below.
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| Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) - close-up of foliage. Note fine, soft hairs and small, round glands. |
The
flowers of Mimulus cardinalis are
bilaterally symmetric, like a snapdragon. As seen in the photograph below, the
petals are highly modified into five lobes.
The upper two – which form the ‘upper lip’ – are bent forward. The lower three (the ‘lower lip’) – are bent
backward. The flower is very narrow compared
to other Mimulus, giving the
impression that the entire flower has been squeezed from the sides (see photo
of Mimulus guttatus, below, for
comparison).
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| Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) - flower |
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| Seep monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). Compare the floral structure of this monkeyflower to Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis), above |
When
seen from the side (below) the unique characteristics of the flower become even
more apparent. First, the flower has a
rather long, tubular calyx (the green part – composed of the sepals), which
will later become the seed capsule. The calyx covers a long floral tube. Second, the positions and shapes of the floral
lobes are quite unusual. Third, the
sexual organs are located near the upper lip, but extend beyond it (see arrow). The single pistil (female part) is green;
the stamens (male parts that produce the pollen) are hairy in the photo.
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| Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) - side view of flower |
The
location of the sexual organs, the long tubular shape and the flower color all relate
to specialized pollinators – the hummingbirds. The floral architecture insures
that hummingbirds brush against the sexual parts while retrieving nectar hidden
deep in the floral tube. Pollination is
a by-product of feeding, transferring pollen from anther to stigma. To learn more about the interesting relationships
between native Mimulus and their
pollinators, see reference 3.
The
flowers’ bright color, which ranges from scarlet to orange-red, is the most striking
feature of Mimulus cardinalis. In our local plants, there is often also some
yellow in the center of the tube. The foliage
provides a strong color contrast with the flowers, making both green and red
appear more intense. This is a good
example of Mother Nature’s use of complimentary colors (those opposite on the
color wheel) to ‘intensify’ colors, often to make the flowers or fruits more
visible to pollinators or seed dispersers.
Scarlet
monkeyflower is classified as an obligate wetland plant in California. It’s not at all particular about the type of
soil it grows in, but it does like its water.
Clay soils can be an advantage in growing Mimulus cardinalis because they are easier to keep moist. The
plants can even be grown in places with seasonal flooding – or in a pot in a
pond (best to keep the crown just above the water level). Scarlet monkeyflower
can be grown in full sun or – we think better – with some afternoon shade in warm
L.A. Basin gardens.
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| Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) in a pot Mother Nature's Garden of Health |
We
grow our Mimulus cardinalis in a
large fired-clay pot. It’s easier to
give it the water it needs, in a garden that’s otherwise quite drought
tolerant. We water our pot once or twice
a week when it’s really hot and dry. This plant will spread via rhizomes in moist
soil. It can form dense colonies and it also re-seeds on moist ground. So growing this plant in a container makes
sense in terms of control as well as water needs.
Other
than watering, Scarlet monkeyflower needs little care. Cut the stems back by about 2/3 after
flowering to keep the plant from getting rangy.
If you cut back after the first blooming,
plants will often produce a second set of flowers. Pull up the unwanted seedlings in winter or
spring – they are distinctive with their light green color and fuzzy leaves. That’s about it.
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| Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) - seed capsules |
Scarlet
monkeyflower seeds are tiny – like finely-ground pepper. You can shake them out of dry seed
capsules. Or, if you want to collect
them for growing, simply cut off stems with mature capsules, invert them in a
glass jar or bowl, and let the seeds drop out.
Mimulus cardinalis is a relatively short-lived perennial
(3-5 years in most gardens), so you may want to grow some backup plants. They are easy to grow from seed, and summer/fall
are good times to start them. Wet the
potting soil, sprinkle seeds, water in well and keep the soil moist. We start our plants in small recycled pots, in
an area with bright shade. You can place
the pots in a tub with a little water to keep them moist.
So,
how to use Scarlet monkeyflower? It’s
appropriate for any moist area of the garden – places with sprinkler overspray,
fountain splash, around ponds/pools, watered swales/rain gardens and other
green oases. These plants remind us of
cool woodland streams. We love them in
larger wetland pots (http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2013/05/guilt-free-gardening-grow-wetland-in-pot.html)
and alone in pots as accent plants. They
add a wonderful touch to patios with bright shade or sun. 'Santa Cruz Island Gold’ is an attractive
natural cultivar with golden yellow flowers.
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| Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) Native plant garden, Madrona Marsh Nature Center |
Of
course, place them where you can see the hummingbirds. If you enjoy these special pollinators – and who
doesn’t - plant Scarlet monkeyflower along with the Mints, Woodmints and other
hummingbird plants for year-round pleasure.
Mimulus cardinalis foliage is
larval food for the Buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia), another special
garden visitor.
Both
the foliage and the flowers are edible.
The foliage tends to be salty – try using the young foliage as cooked
greens. You may enjoy their unique flavor. An infusion (water extraction) was used as a
wash for babies in past times, and to ‘cool’ sunburns and minor skin
irrigations.
In
summary, Mimulus cardinalis is an
interesting wetland plant that adds a lovely green touch to local gardens. Plants are not only pretty, they attract
hummingbirds and Buckeye butterflies.
While not a major food or medicinal plant, this plants other fine qualities
argue for its inclusion in more Southern California gardens. So snap one up at the fall plant sales (if
you can find one)!
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| Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) |
For a
gardening information sheet see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/gardening-sheet-mimulus-cardinalis
For more
pictures of this plant see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/mimulus-cardinalis-web-show
For plant
information sheets on other native plants see: http://nativeplantscsudh.blogspot.com/p/gallery-of-native-plants_17.html
____________
- http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=MIEA
- https://www.ventanawild.org/news/fall10/pdf/mimulus_cardinalis.pdf
3. Schemske & Bradshaw. Pollinator preference and the
evolution of floral traits in monkeyflowers (Mimulus). Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences (PNAS) 96 (21): 11910-11915, 1999 - http://www.pnas.org/content/96/21/11910.full
We
welcome your comments (below). You can
also send your questions to: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com
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