# Crimson Monkeyflower (*erythranthe verbenacea*)

The Crimson Monkeyflower is a striking, moisture-loving perennial herb native to the arid canyons of the American Southwest and northern Mexico. Standing out like a brilliant torch against dusty sandstone, this vibrant plant is renowned for its fiery red-orange flowers. It thrives in microhabitats where water is constantly present, such as desert seeps, springs, and weep holes in sheer canyon walls. Its ability to colonize these damp, vertical rock faces makes it a crucial botanical oasis in otherwise inhospitable terrains.

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Snaps:** 1
- **Habitat:** Typically found growing in wet canyon seeps, desert springs, and moist sandstone crevices of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

![Crimson Monkeyflower](https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/111625923/medium.jpeg)

Photo: no rights reserved, uploaded by Robbie Hannawacker, CC0 · [iNaturalist](https://www.inaturalist.org/photos/111625923)

## Appearance

This upright herb typically grows 30 to 80 centimeters tall, featuring sticky, glandular-hairy stems and opposite, oblong-toothed green leaves. Its most defining feature is the array of tube-shaped, brilliant crimson-red to scarlet flowers, which measure up to 5 centimeters in length. The blossoms feature a prominent two-lipped corolla with a yellow, slightly hairy throat that acts as a visual guide for pollinators, contrasting sharply against the intense red petals.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Lamiales
- **Family:** Phrymaceae
- **Genus:** Erythranthe

## Interesting facts

- Despite growing in arid, scorching desert regions, this plant is an obligate wetland species, meaning it cannot survive without a constant, direct source of water.
- Its scientific genus name, Erythranthe, translates directly from Greek as 'red flower', referencing its vivid blossoms.
- The common name 'monkeyflower' comes from the shape of the blossoms, which are thought to resemble a grinning monkey's face when viewed head-on.

## Special abilities

- **Hummingbird Beacon:** Produces vibrant, tubular red flowers rich in nectar that are specifically evolved to attract hummingbird pollinators while excluding most bees.
- **Glandular Defense:** Employs sticky, glandular hairs across its stems and leaves to deter crawling herbivorous insects and reduce transpiration.
- **Chasmophytic Rooting:** Maintains a highly specialized root system capable of anchoring securely into narrow, vertical sandstone fractures and saturated seepages.

## Diet & Feeding

As a photosynthetic plant, it generates its own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water, absorbing essential minerals through its roots.

- **Primary Foods:** Sunlight, Water, Carbon dioxide, Soil minerals
- **Foraging Method:** Photosynthesis

## Ecological connections

- **Mutualism:** [Black-chinned Hummingbird](https://www.snappit.app/explore/black-chinned-hummingbird) (*Archilochus alexandri*) — Pollinates the bright red flowers while feeding on the plant's abundant, sugar-rich nectar rewards.
- **Host plant:** [Common Buckeye](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-buckeye) (*Junonia coenia*) — The plant serves as a host for larval development, with caterpillars feeding on its foliage.
- **Parasite:** Black Bean Aphid (*Aphis fabae*) — An insect pest that feeds on the sap of the plant's succulent, moisture-rich stems and leaves.

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

No special safety notes yet.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Crimson Monkeyflower?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### What does Crimson Monkeyflower eat?

As a photosynthetic plant, it generates its own food using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water, absorbing essential minerals through its roots.

### Where is Crimson Monkeyflower usually found?

Typically found growing in wet canyon seeps, desert springs, and moist sandstone crevices of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

### How does Crimson Monkeyflower hunt?

Photosynthesis

## Where to spot

- [Childs-Irving Hydroelectric Facilities](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/childs-irving-hydroelectric-facilities) — Arizona, US · Historic District

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

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Source: [Crimson Monkeyflower: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/crimson-monkeyflower)