Mentzelia affinis
Mentzelia floridana
yellow comet
Florida stickleaf, poorman's patch, poorman's patches
erect, becoming decumbent, to 60 cm.
petiole to 25 mm;
blade usually hastate or ovate, distal sometimes elliptic, basally lobed or unlobed, to 8.4 × 5.5 cm, base usually truncate, sometimes obtusely cuneate, margins usually serrate or dentate to crenate, sometimes entire, apex acute.
persisting;
petiole present or absent;
blade linear-lanceolate to linear, margins usually deeply to moderately lobed, sinuses extending 1/4+ to midvein, rarely entire.
petiole absent;
blade ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, to 17 cm, margins usually dentate or entire, rarely deeply lobed.
green, ovate to lanceolate, 2.7–6.6 × 0.9–2.1 mm, width 1/5–1/3 length, not concealing capsule, margins 3-lobed or entire.
(fruiting) 0.6–4 × less than 1 mm.
sepals 1–7 mm;
petals yellow to orange proximally, yellow distally, 4–12 mm, apex acute;
stamens 20+, 3–6.5 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed;
styles 3–6.5 mm.
petals creamy yellow to orange, 6.5–13 × 3.5–7 mm, apex cuspidate, hairy on apex;
stamens 20–35, 6–11 mm, filaments heteromorphic, 5 outermost narrowly spatulate, inner filiform;
style 8–10 mm.
narrowly cylindric, 7–32 × 1–3 mm, axillary curved to 90° at maturity, often prominently longitudinally ribbed.
usually lingulate to funnelform, rarely ovoid, 10–18 × 4–5.8 mm, base rounded or cuneate, capsule and pedicel well-differentiated.
10–20, in 1 row distal to mid fruit, tan, dark-mottled or not, triangular prisms, surface ±smooth under 10x magnification; recurved flap over hilum absent;
seed coat cell outer periclinal wall flat.
(4–)6–8 per capsule, pyriform, without transverse folds.
= 18.
= 20.
Mentzelia affinis
Mentzelia floridana
Herbarium specimens of Mentzelia affinis are often difficult to distinguish from those of M. dispersa despite distinct evolutionary histories (J. M. Brokaw and L. Hufford 2010). Several characters, including flower size, leaf margins, and capsule surfaces, differ substantially between these species, but habitat is the most dependable diagnostic character. Verified populations of M. affinis have not been found above 1200 meters in desert habitats, and grassland populations are usually restricted to much lower elevations. Sympatric populations of M. affinis and M. dispersa have not been found, and, in areas of range overlap in southern California, M. dispersa has not been found below 1200 meters or in desert vegetation.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Mentzelia floridana, which is widespread in peninsular Florida, belongs to a clade restricted to the Gulf coastal and Caribbean region; it is most closely related to M. gracilis Urban & Gilg of Mexico and to M. lindheimeri of Texas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
