Burke: Mentzelia veatchiana vs. Mentzelia laevicaulis

	Mentzelia veatchiana	Mentzelia laevicaulis
		giant blazing-star
Habit		Biennial or short-lived perennial from a deep taproot, the stem 3-10 dm. tall, single and branched, but often appearing multi-stemmed when branched near the base; harshly scabrid-pubescent.
Leaves		Leaves alternate, the lower ones oblanceolate, with slender petioles, deeply pinnatifid, the lobes often angled backward, up to 15 cm. long; upper leaves sessile, oblong to ovate-oblong, more shallowly lobed.
Flowers		Flowers solitary and terminal on branch ends and often in the upper leaf axils, each subtended by 1-several entire or few-toothed bracts; calyx lobes 5, linear, 1.5 -4 cm. long; petals 5, lemon yellow, 2.5-8 cm. long, narrowly oblong or oblong-lanceolate; stamens very numerous, 2/3 the length of the petals, the 5 outer ones without anthers, much widened and petaloid, alternate with the petals; style 1, stigma 3-4 mm., ovary inferior, 1-celled.
Fruits		Capsule 1.5-3.5 cm. long.

	Mentzelia veatchiana	Mentzelia laevicaulis
Flowering time		July-September
Habitat		Dry, often rocky or gravelly soil, desert valleys to lower mountains.
Distribution	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to Montana and Wyoming. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin		Native
Conservation status		Not of concern
Sibling taxa	M. albicaulis, M. dispersa, M. laevicaulis, M. montana	M. albicaulis, M. dispersa, M. montana
Subordinate taxa		M. laevicaulis var. laevicaulis, M. laevicaulis var. parviflora
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Mentzelia veatchiana

Mentzelia laevicaulis

giant blazing-star

Habit

Biennial or short-lived perennial from a deep taproot, the stem 3-10 dm. tall, single and branched, but often appearing multi-stemmed when branched near the base; harshly scabrid-pubescent.

Leaves

Leaves alternate, the lower ones oblanceolate, with slender petioles, deeply pinnatifid, the lobes often angled backward, up to 15 cm. long; upper leaves sessile, oblong to ovate-oblong, more shallowly lobed.

Flowers

Flowers solitary and terminal on branch ends and often in the upper leaf axils, each subtended by 1-several entire or few-toothed bracts;

calyx lobes 5, linear, 1.5 -4 cm. long;

petals 5, lemon yellow, 2.5-8 cm. long, narrowly oblong or oblong-lanceolate;

stamens very numerous, 2/3 the length of the petals, the 5 outer ones without anthers, much widened and petaloid, alternate with the petals;

style 1, stigma 3-4 mm., ovary inferior, 1-celled.

Fruits

Capsule 1.5-3.5 cm. long.