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Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Monkeyflowers in Heaven


Mimulus, of Bach flower remedy fame, is also a lovely wildflower and indigenous remedy... I've mostly used it for pain, externally on wounds, burns, nerve injuries and have been recently using it internally for pain as well, especially joint pain and neuralgia (a use gleefully taken from Kings American Dispensatory ).

This is an incredibly joyful little plant, and is proving to be an effective anti-depressant for those who feel the joy of life has completely left them, who feel terribly vulnerable and constantly anxious. These are flower essence indications but they're very accurate to the action of the plant. Monkeyflowers have a big spirit and just sitting with them can be uplifting and well, just plain fun.

I have a hard time picking the plant because they seem so animated and child-like that I can barely stand to harvest them. Thankfully, small doses seem to be very effective and so I don't feel I need to take very much.

Monkeyflowers like to grow near clean, running water. They seem to be fairly common throughout the West, especially in Alaska and New Mexico. Here, they thrive on the riverbanks, especially in wet Springs like this one. During dry years I'll only see a few here and there, but this year they're nearly everywhere even remotely damp, springing up like eager children to play in the sun and wind.

I'm off to the river to see the Monkeyflowers again!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

We call that monkey musk here, and it's incredibly abundant. How do you prepare it, Kiva? Tincture? Leaves and flowers?

Anonymous said...

Meant to say, the species here is Mimulus guttatus. Do you think the similar looking mimulus species are interchangeable medicinally?

Oakmoss Changeling said...

Well, I've only used the species here but I have read a few times that one can use other species.

Yep, I tincture leaves and flowers...

If you try it out, please let me know how it goes, Kate!

Ananda said...

Hi Lovely! Been so busy I haven't had a chance to catch up on the blogs - all your posts are so beautiful and enlightening. And thanks for the mentions :) very sweet.
Oh - and I DO kiss my plantain!
~ananda

Darcey Blue said...

There were at least two colors of monkey flowers in the santa catalinas back in arizona. I never used them for medicine, but munched the leaves and flowers as a wild edible. Very tasty!
glad to know there are other uses for this lovely plant!

Anonymous said...

This sounds like a wonderful plant. It appears that its range is limited to the western states. Does it have any relatives in the Northeast? I am in Vermont and a neophyte, trying to learn what I can about useful wild plants. I found your site via Crabapple Herbs (Rebecca).

Great site- makes me long for the Southwest.

Thanks.

Jan

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All artwork & photographs (c) 2007 Jesse Wolf Hardin