The Rarest Plant in Michigan is in Danger of Extinction

Michigan's rarest flower is back for a brief time: the Michigan Monkeyflower.

Monkeyflower is a rare wildflower that is nationally known as an endangered species, mainly found in northern Michigan. It's a semi-aquatic plant – part of the figwort family – with limited uumbers in the upper mitten and southern Upper Peninsula.

The Monkeyflower blooms from June to August, sometimes lasting until October. Best places to find it are around the Straits of Mackinac and the Grand Traverse area shorelines. This is not a yearly occurrence: the monkeyflower was last seen near Charlevoix in 2023, Traverse in 2022, and before that was 2018 in Benzie County. In 2023, the Upper Peninsula was graced with four sightings in Mackinac County.

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Now, how would you recognize a monkeyflower if you came upon one?

According to the Free Press, the monkeyflower has “rounded, opposite leaves with course and toothed edges, and tubular flowers with yellow petals and a red-spotted lower lip.” Likely places to find them are in springs, streams, and shorelines.

What could make the monkeyflower become extinct?

Road construction, groundwater pumping, storms and rising lake levels.
As of 2025, the monkeyflower's survival is in danger worldwide.