Mimulus guttatus (Common Monkeyflower)
Credit: Benjamin Blackman
about the species
Mimulus guttatus, the common monkeyflower, is a widespread wildflower species found across a broad latitudinal and elevational range throughout California. It can be found growing either as an annual in seasonally dry meadows and seeps, or as a perennial in continuously moist environments. This species has a rich history of study, and its genome was one of the earliest plant genomes sequenced due to its great evolutionary and ecological interest.
why species was selected
Populations of Mimulus guttatus are often locally adapted to environments that vary substantially in their annual temperature and precipitation cycles, and some populations are even found in acutely stressful habitats like serpentine soils, coastal dunes, or copper mine tailings. Thus, this species possesses exceptional genomic diversity, study of which will highlight what variants may be most important to conserve for adaptation to current and future climates.
