Lewis' Monkey Flower

Description:

Gorgeous magenta flowers with yellow and orange centers.

Habitat:

These were spotted by a shady creek at Anthony Lakes in the Wallowa Whitman national forest in eastern Oregon. According to Wikipedia, "Mimulus lewisii is native to western North America from Alaska to California to Colorado, where it grows in moist habitat such as streambanks, and is generally found at higher elevations in montane areas. It overlaps with its sister species, Mimulus cardinalis, in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California."

Notes:

According to Wikipedia, "Mimulus species tend to concentrate sodium chloride and other salts absorbed from the soils in which they grow in their leaves and stem tissues. Native Americans and early travelers in the American West used this plant as a salt substitute to flavor wild game. The entire plant is edible, but reported to be very salty and bitter unless well cooked. The juice squeezed from the plant's foliage was used as a soothing poultice for minor burns and skin irritations.[4]"