Scarlet Monkey-Flower
Mimulus Cardinalis, Dougl. Figwort Family
Stout; viscid; hairy. Stems.—One to five feet high. Leaves.—Sessile; ovate to ovate-lanceolate; ragged-margined; several-nerved; two or three inches long. Peduncles.—Three inches long. Corolla.—Scarlet; two inches or more long. Upper lip erect; its two lobes turned back. Lower lip three-lobed; reflexed. Stamens.—Exserted. (See Mimulus.) Hab.—Throughout Oregon and California along watercourses.
One day in June, when riding upon the shores of Bolinas Bay, I came upon a spot where a cañon stream flowed out upon a little flat at tide-level, making a small fresh-water marsh, in which mint, bulrushes, and scarlet Mimulus were striving for the mastery. But the Mimulus was the most wonderful I ever saw. It stood four or five feet high—a patch of it—strong and vigorous, and covered with its handsome, large scarlet flowers, a sight to be remembered. This species is often cultivated in gardens.
SCARLET GILIA—Gilia Aggregata.