Mimulus, commonly known as monkeyflowers, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Phrymaceae. The genus once encompassed roughly 150 species distributed across much of the world, but a major DNA-based restructuring by Barker and colleagues in 2012 reduced it to just seven species. The majority of former Mimulus species were transferred to the related genus Erythranthe (111 species with axile placentation and long pedicels) or to Diplacus (46 species with parietal placentation and sessile flowers), with a small number assigned to Uvedalia, Elacholoma, Mimetanthe, and Thyridia.
The seven species retained in Mimulus sensu stricto are distributed across eastern North America, Queensland (Australia), Madagascar, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. They share a preference for wet or moist habitats and are not drought resistant. Notable members include Mimulus ringens (Allegheny monkey-flower) of eastern North America and Mimulus madagascariensis of Madagascar.
Mimulus was historically placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, but chloroplast DNA studies beginning in the mid-1990s supported its transfer to Phrymaceae. Several species and cultivars have been grown as ornamental garden plants; the cultivar 'Highland Red' holds the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Etymology
The genus name Mimulus derives from the Latin mimus, meaning "mimic" or "actor." The allusion is to the flowers, which appear to bear grinning faces resembling those of monkeys — giving rise to the common name monkeyflower.
Distribution
Mimulus sensu stricto comprises seven species: two native to eastern North America (M. ringens, M. alatus) and five distributed across Queensland (Australia), Madagascar, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia (Bangladesh to Myanmar, central Thailand, and Vietnam). All species favour wet or moist habitats.
Taxonomy Notes
The genus underwent a major revision in 2012 when Barker et al., drawing on molecular (DNA) evidence, reduced Mimulus from roughly 150 species to seven. The bulk of the former genus was reallocated to Erythranthe and Diplacus, with small numbers moved to Uvedalia, Elacholoma, Mimetanthe, and Thyridia. The transfer from the traditional family Scrophulariaceae to Phrymaceae had been anticipated by chloroplast DNA studies published from the mid-1990s onward.
