Scientific Family
Scrophulariaceae
Synonyms
Herpestris pilosa, Mimulus exilis, Mimulus pilosus, Moniera pilosa
Other common names
downy mimetanthe
snouted monkey flower
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Similar species
Mimulus floribundus
Height
To nearly 14 inches
Riparian
Yes
Small erect annual, reddish stems. Leaves and stems are sticky and densely covered with long, soft, white hairs. Bright, small, yellow trumpet-like flowers with dark red dots grow from within lobed, hairy, leaf-like bracts forming elongated clusters.
Plants of moist soils; stems erect or nearly so, very hairy and sticky, simple or branched; stems of multiple, irregular yellow flowers with red dots, in axils of opposite leaf-like bracts; sepals irregular, deeply divided, unequal with some lobes longer.
Habitat
Found in moist areas with sandy to gravelly soils especially by small streams, seeps (a place where water oozes slowly out of the ground) and springs as well as in disturbed areas.
Plant Community
Riparian
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
1000
High elevation
4500
Flower Characteristics
Flower has an upper and lower lip with 5 lobe-like petals that are flared at the tips, often with dark red dots on the lower lip. The base of the flower is tube-shaped and encircled by green, very hairy, leaf-like sepals, which are partially separated.
Flower color
Yellow, dark red dots
Flower shape
Irregular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
August
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Stems may be branched or unbranched, are dotted with glands and covered with long, straight, spreading hairs. Leaves are lance-shaped, grow from 3/4 to 1 inch long, have no stalks and are arranged in pairs that overlap each other on the stem (decussate).
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
The fruit is a dry capsule having 2 chambers, egg-shaped, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long with a light coating of glandular hairs on its surface. When ripe, the capsule opens in the middle (loculicidal) to release many seeds.
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit color
Light brown
The seed is yellow to dark brown, egg-shaped to wedge shaped, 1/16 inch long with glassy, see-through, spike-like projections on its surface.