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Seep Monkey Flower
Scientific Name:
Erythranthe guttata
Type:
Herbaceous Plant
Habitat:
Wetlands
Range:
Western and Great Plains states except for Kansas and Oklahoma
Status:
No listed status
This species is
NATIVE
to the Truckee Meadows.
Identification:
Seep monkey flowers have bright yellow flowers with small red dots on the center. The flower is bilaterally symmetrical with five petals that are fused into a cup, or mouth-like, structure. The leaves are bright green, with a broadly rounded shape and toothed edges. Seep monkey flowers grow two to five feet tall.
Fast Facts:
Seep monkey flowers have been utilized by numerous indigenous tribes for purposes such as food and medicine. Some of these uses include: 1) The Mendocino Indian Tribe in California used the leaves as a substitute for lettuce. 2) The Miwok Tribe in California boiled the leaves for food. 3) The Shoshone tribe used a poultice of crushed leaves as a remedy for wounds or rope burns.
Part of the name, “seep”, comes from the fact that they live in moist, riparian environments. A seep is a wetland that is formed when groundwater reaches the surface of the land.
Seep monkey flower grows in moist soils, and can grow in up to two feet of water. Their love for water makes these herbaceous plants common in wetland ecosystems.
Here in the Truckee Meadows, seep monkey flower can be found in the Mount Rose Wilderness.
Sources:
Calscape, Seep Monkey Flower, https://calscape.org/Erythranthe-guttata-()
Southwest Desert Flora, Mimulus guttatus, Seep Monkey Flower 2016, http://southwestdesertflora.com/WebsiteFolders/All_Species/Scrophulariaceae/Mimulus%20guttatus,%20Seep%20Monkeyflower.html
Native Plant Trust, Mimulus guttatus seep monkey flower, 2021, https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/mimulus/guttatus/
The American Southwest, Mimulus Guttatus, Common Monkeyflower, https://www.americansouthwest.net/plants/wildflowers/mimulus-guttatus.html
WildMacro, Seep Monkeyflower (Erythranthe guttata), https://wildmacro.com/library/flora/seep-monkeyflower-erythranthe-guttata-wildflower.html
iNaturalist search
Burke Herbarium Image Collection, Erythranthe guttata, http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection/taxon.php?Taxon=Erythranthe%20guttata.
National Park Service, Seep Monkey Flower, 2015, https://www.nps.gov/prsf/learn/nature/seep-monkey-flower.htm#:~:text=The%20yellowish%2Dorange%2C%20tubular%20flowers,where%20soil%20is%20often%20moist.
Image: Steve Peck, https://www.flickr.com/photos/willetlunch/49860290243/, license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, cropped from original.
Image: Franco Folini, https://www.flickr.com/photos/livenature/10374394226/, license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, cropped from original.
Image: Matt Lavin, https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/28713134776/, license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, cropped from original.
Contributor(s):
Camille Verendia (research & content)
Alex Shahbazi (edits & page design)