Scientific name: Mimulus lewisii

Facts: Lewis’s monkey flower is one of the plants discovered by Lewis and Clark on their trip through this area, and it was later named for Meriwether Lewis. It is a showy plant with bright scarlet flowers found along streams.

The plant blooms from the middle to late summer throughout the blue mountains.

The leafy stems about two feet tall with the brilliant flowers at the top make it easy to identify.

This plant is found through the west, from British Columbia to California, to Alberta to Colorado.

It would have been hard for Lewis and Clark to miss.

Lewis’s monkey flower is a favorite of nature photographers and is in just about every book of wildflowers in the west.

There is no known use for the plant, which probably doesn’t matter. It is always a pleasure to find it along a trail.

Where to find: Look for it along mountain streams, from about 4,500 feet elevation to subalpine areas.