Chickweed Monkeyflower: The 16th Flower of Spring!

[best appreciated at full size against black]

Every year at this time, the moss and grass-covered area around our granite valley begins to take on color. At first, there are the twinkling white Spring Whitlow Grass and Spring Sandwort flowers to ring in the season. Then, as of about a week ago, a flash of yellow can be seen here and there, which will soon erupt into a carpet of tiny yellow flowers that resemble tiny orchids to me! The Chickweed Monkeyflower has begun to bloom!! YAY!! I was very excited to see these tiny jewels begin to appear, and I had a very hard time taking pictures of them last year. This bud represents my first attempt at photographing this tiny flower bud, which measures about 1/3" in length and about 1/8" in diameter unopened.

The Chickweed Monkeyflower is in the genus "Mimulus," includes about 150 species and can be found world-wide. They get their name from the resemblance of some species to a monkey's face. This species is found in places where the ground is very wet, and are only found here on our property. Rain water runs down off of our hillside, through the meadow and down through the valley below, making this area almost bog-like during sprintime. I was interested to find out that monkeyflowers accumulate salt in their leaves and stems, and were used as a salt substitute to flavor wild game by Native Americans and pioneers. It also has medicinal uses; the juice squeezed from the plant's foliage has been used as a soothing poultice for minor burns and skin irritations.

If you would like to know more about monkeyflowers, Wiki has a great source of information here: Wiki: Monkeyflower (Mimulus).

This image was taken in March, 2012.