Sticky Monkey Flower

It seems the flowers are supposed to resemble a “laughing” monkey’s face. The bright orange color of the flowers, sticky undersides of the leaves, and shrubby growth habit make sticky monkey-flower easy to distinguish.

The sticky resin produces by the leaf glands serves as a deterrent to the larvae of the variable checkerspot butterfly for which this species is a host plant. The resin may also inhibit water loss.

The Kumeyaay used monkey flower primarily for medicinal purposes, from burns and wounds to treatments for colds, coughs, flus, stomach disorders and heart ailments. Some native Americans used the young stems and leaves of monkeyflower for salad greens.