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. It is most commonly found in central and lower Mississippi valley, and considered rare in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York and Ontario.

Habitat

The sharp wing monkey-flower is a perennial that grows best under partial sun exposure and wet to moist conditions. It has been found in a variety of wetland types such as edges of small rivers, swamps, shady stream banks, wet woods, marshes, wet meadows, ditches, springs, etc. Full sun is tolerable but when it is grown in habitats that are too dry and sunny, the sharp wing monkey-flower remains small in size and becomes yellowish green. During its season it can endure occasional flooding and foliar disease is infrequent. It prefers a slightly acidic to neutral soil pH of 5.6-7.5 that contains plenty of organic matter. Temperatures below -23 °F are not survivable.

Morphology

Individuals of this species can range from 15 cm to 91 cm in height, depending on growth conditions. Its root system consists of taproot and thick rhizomes. The flowers are bisexual and bilaterally symmetrical, and most commonly blue to violet. It has erect, hollow, smooth, square (4-angled) stems that sometimes branch off. There are also thin wings along the angles of the stem.

The glabrous opposite leaves in a decussate arrangement are noticeably toothed (dentate to serrate) and are up to 12 cm long and 5 cm wide. They are ovate, lanceolate-ovate, or lanceolate, gradually narrowing to a sharp point at the apex. At the base are narrowly winged petioles about 1.2 cm long.

Flowers

Flowers occur individually and are 2.5 cm long. Only a few flowers on the same plant are in bloom during the June to September season. The two-lipped corolla is borne from 5 mm pedicels from the upper leaf axils. At the center, or throat, of the corolla is a yellow region surrounded by a band of white; the yellow beard guides pollinators towards the flower. The upper lip consists of a pair of lobes that fold backwards to the side and the lower lip has three rounded lobes that spread outward and serve as a welcoming platform for pollinating insects. Unlike the stems and leaves, the flowers are not glabrous as they have fine white hairs on the surface of the corolla. The 1.7 cm long, tubular five-parted calyx has five teeth alongside its outer rim. When the corolla falls off, the calyx surrounds a 1 cm capsule that contains many conspicuous black seeds. Collected seeds have successfully germinated indoors. At the base of the 1.5 cm corolla tube are four stamens – one short and one long pair. There is a 6 mm long, bilocular, light green, oval shaped ovary. White filaments are 6–7 mm long, with brownish 1.3 mm anthers. There is a white glabrous style of 7 mm long and two flattened stigmas.

Pollination

Bumblebees (such as the ''Bombus pensylvanicus'') are attracted to the nectar of the flowers and are the primary pollinators. Leaves of the plant are eaten by the caterpillars of the moth ''Elaphria chalcedonia''. Butterflies and birds are also visitors to the sharp wing monkey-flower but there has been very little data collected for its floral-faunal relationships.

Similar species

At first glance ''Mimulus alatus'' is often confused with ''Mimulus ringens'', or the square-stemmed monkey-flower, because ''M. alatus'' occurs in several of the same habitats that ''M. ringens'' does. However, close examination of the two monkey-flowers can help differentiate them. ''M. ringens'' has sessile leaves (no petiole) and pedicels that are greater than 1.2 cm in length, whereas ''M. alatus'' have winged petioles and its pedicels are much shorter than 1.2 cm. The flowers of ''M. ringens'' are borne on pedicels longer than its calyx and for ''M. alatus'', it is the opposite – its pedicels are shorter than its calyx. The leaves of ''M. ringens'' are weakly toothed and stems unnoticeably winged. Also, it is noted that ''M. ringens'' can tolerate wider ranges of habitat conditions whereas ''M. alatus'' is more conservative.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6862375

alatus
Flora of the Eastern United States
Flora of Eastern Canada
Flora of the Southeastern United States
Flora of the Appalachian Mountains
Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America)
Plants described in 1789