Monkeyflowers are members of the genus Mimulus in the lopseed family. Many of them are native to the Yuba-Sutter area. One of these is a shrub (having woody stems), while the others are annual or perennial forbs (having soft stems). Most of them prefer to grow in shaded spots.
Monkeyflower leaves are a favorite food for the caterpillars of the local variable checkerspot and common buckeye butterflies.
Shrub
Bush Monkeyflower
Red-flowering form of bush monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus) in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice. Bush monkeyflower (also called sticky monkeyflower) is a three-foot-tall by three-foot-wide, peach-, orange- or occasionally red-flowering, semi-deciduous shrub that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations below 7,500 feet. Forms found in the Yuba-Sutter area most often have peach-colored flowers, and can be seen in abundance around Lake Oroville. It is most often found on rocky cliffs and hillsides in coastal or disturbed areas in central oak woodland or yellow pine forest. It prefers partial shade and tolerates serpentine.
You can read more about it at the Theodore Payne Wiki and the Las Pilitas Nursery website. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange.
Orange-flowering form of bush monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus) in the wild. Photo by queerbychoice.
Perennials
Musk Flower
Musk flower is a six-inch-tall, yellow-flowering perennial that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations below 9,000 feet. It is found in riparian forest.
You can read more about it at the Las Pilitas Nursery website. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange.
Scarlet Monkeyflower
Scarlet monkeyflower (Mimulus cardinalis) in a garden in Marysville. Photo by queerbychoice. Scarlet monkeyflower is often seen in Spenceville State Wildlife Area. It is a two- to three-foot-tall by three- to four-foot-wide, evergreen, red-flowering perennial that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations below 8,000 feet. It is found in riparian forest. It tolerates full shade, poor drainage, and serpentine.
You can read more about it at the Theodore Payne Wiki, the Las Pilitas Nursery website, and USDA Conservation Plant Characteristics. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange.
Primrose Monkeyflower
Primrose monkeyflower is a prostrate, two-foot-tall, yellow-flowering perennial that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations between 2,000 and 11,000 feet. It is found in riparian forest. It tolerates full shade.
You can read more about it at the Theodore Payne Wiki, the Las Pilitas Nursery website, and USDA Conservation Plant Characteristics. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange.
Annuals
Torrey's Monkeyflower
Torrey's monkeyflower is a pink-flowering annual that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations below 8,000 feet. It is most often found in disturbed areas in central oak woodland and yellow pine forest.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Yellow and White Monkeyflower
Yellow and white monkeyflower is a yellow-and-white-flowering annual that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations below 6,000 feet. It is found in central oak woodland or yellow pine forest. It occasionally grows in wetlands.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Brownie
Brownie (also called purple mouse ears) is a purple-and-brown-flowering annual that is native to Sutter County and typically grows at elevations below 4,000 feet. It is found in central oak woodland or riparian forest. It is equally likely to grow in wetlands or non-wetlands. It tolerates serpentine.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Kellogg's Monkeyflower
Kellogg's monkeyflower is a pink-flowering annual that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations below 3,000 feet. It is most often found in disturbed areas in central oak woodland or yellow pine forest.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Cutleaf Monkeyflower
Cutleaf monkeyflower is a yellow-flowering annual that is native to Sutter County (on the Sutter Buttes) and typically grows at elevations between 2,000 and 8,500 feet. It is found in yellow pine forest or riparian forest. It is equally likely to occur in wetlands or non-wetlands. It is listed as a rare plant by the California Native Plant Society.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, and Flickr, and Picasa.
Candelabrum Monkeyflower
Candelabrum monkeyflower is a yellow-flowering annual that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations between 2,500 and 5,000 feet. It is found in yellow pine forest.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Brewer's Monkeyflower
Brewer's monkeyflower is a pink-flowering annual that is native to Yuba County and typically grows at elevations between 4,000 and 11,000 feet. It is found in yellow pine forest. It occasionally grows in wetlands.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Seep Monkeyflower
Seep monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). Photo by queerbychoice. Seep monkeyflower (also called common yellow monkeyflower) is a two-and-a-half-foot-tall, yellow-flowering annual (or occasionally perennial) that is native to Yuba and Sutter Counties and typically grows at elevations below 10,000 feet. It is most often found in meadows in riparian forest and freshwater marsh. It tolerates full shade and serpentine. Botanist Willis Linn Jepson collected seep monkeyflower on the Sutter Buttes in 1891.1
You can read more about it at the Theodore Payne Wiki, the Las Pilitas Nursery website, and USDA Conservation Plant Characteristics. You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange.
Parish's Monkeyflower
Parish's monkeyflower is a white-flowering annual that is native to Yuba and Sutter Counties and typically grows at elevations below 7,000 feet. It occasionally grows in wetlands.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa. You can find out where to buy it at the California Native Plant Link Exchange.
Many-Flowered Monkeyflower
Many-flowered monkeyflower is a yellow-flowering annual that is native to Yuba and Sutter Counties and typically grows at elevations below 11,000 feet. It is found in riparian forest and freshwater marsh.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa.
Vernal Pool Monkeyflower
Vernal pool monkeyflower is a pink-flowering annual that is native to Sutter County and typically grows at elevations below 2,000 feet. It is found in riparian forest and freshwater marsh.
You can see pictures of it at CalPhotos, Flickr, and Picasa..
