Bigelow Monkey Flower (Mimulus bigelovi)
Figwort Family

Found: Sandy and gravelly washes below 9,000’ in the Colorado and Mojave deserts.

About: The name Mimulus is from the Latin root mimus, or mimic, which refers to the masks worn by comic actors in ancient Greece. However, the mimicking of this flower of a monkey face is somewhat lost on me. I guess I’ll keep trying to see it.