Cusick's Monkeyflower, Cusick's Monkey-flower, Cusick's Monkey Flower: Mimulus cusickii (Synonym: Eunanus cusickii)

[Monkeyflowers of the Columbia River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]

Cusick's Monkeyflower, Cusick's Monkey-flower, Cusick's Monkey Flower

Mimulus cusickii

Synonym: Eunanus cusickii

Cusick's monkeyflower as seen along Oregon Highway #19 between Kimberly, OR and Spray, OR..............June 30, 2010.

Photo at right a close-up of the flower of Cusick's monkey flower from US 26 near Mitchell, OR......early September 1999.

Characteristics:

Cusick's monkey flower is an attractive low growing but stout annual up to 40 cm high. The herbage is glandular (sticky) and hairy. The leaves are wide and with 3-5 veins. The lower leaves are obovate or oblanceolate in shape with obtuse tips while the upper leaves are ovate with pointed tips. The leaves range from 5-7 cm long and 1-3 cm wide.

The vibrant flowers are either at the upper part of the stem, or in the leaf axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is 7-13 mm long, strongly glandular-hairy, with sharp teeth 2-4 mm long. The 5 lobes of the calyx are unequally cleft, with 3 shorter ones between two deeper "cuts". The corolla is a deep magenta color with yellow and deep red in the throat. The flowers are two-lipped with the lips about equal in size. The corolla is 2-3.5 cm long, and it persists after flowering has finished.

Habitat:

Cusick's monkey flower lives in dry open areas, often in sand, gravel or talus, from the plains up into the foothills.

Range:

Cusick's monkey flower may be found from southern Wasco County, OR south to northeastern California, and east to Boise County, Idaho and northern Nevada.

Additional photos of Cusick's monkeyflower as seen along Oregon Highway #19 between Kimberly, OR and Spray, OR..............June 30, 2010.

Leaf of Cusick's Monkeyflower, Cusick's Monkey-flower, Cusick's Monkey Flower: Mimulus cusickii (Synonym: Eunanus cusickii)

Note the gland-tipped hairs covering the leaf.

Paul Slichter