Fremont's Monkeyflower
Mimulus fremontii
Color: Reddish-purple
Common name: Fremont's monkeyflower
Latin name: Mimulus fremontii
Family: SCROPHULARIACEAE
Height: .5 to 8 inches
Description: Mimulus fremontii is an annual herb with a thin stem. The tubular base of the flower is encapsulated in a wide, ribbed, hairy calyx of sepals with pointed lobes. The corolla of the flower is reddish-purple with a darker pink throat with a yellow spot. There are occasionally all-yellow flowers. The flower is one to two centimeters in length.
Leaf: The oval leaves are up to 3 centimeters long, the ones higher on the plant are hairy in texture.
Range: Desert Mtns, South Coast Ranges, Southwestern California, Mojave Desert
Habitat: Sandy, disturbed areas among shrubs, often on banks, benches along streams
Elevation: 75–2100 m.
Flowering time: Late Mar–Jun
Notes: Mimulus fremontii, a dicot, is an annual herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Distribution outside California: n Baja California. This photo was taken on April 3, 2010 in Joshua Tree scrub along Kelso Creek, Kelso Valley, Kern County, California.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
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