The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

10-petal western star, evening starflower, gumbo-lily, tenpetal blazingstar

saffron blazing star, Sierra blazingstar

Habit Plants biennial or perennial, bushlike, perennials with ground-level caudices. Plants candelabra-form, 30–70(–100) cm.
Stems

solitary, erect, straight;

branches distal or along entire stem, proximal or distal longest, antrorse, straight to upcurved; hairy.

Leaves

blade 72–295 × 14–45 mm, widest intersinus distance 10.1–23.3 mm;

proximal oblanceolate or elliptic, margins serrate to pinnate, teeth or lobes 16–26, slightly antrorse, 1–16.5 mm;

distal elliptic to lanceolate, base clasping or not, margins serrate to pinnate, teeth or lobes 9–20, slightly antrorse, 5.3–13.7 mm;

surfaces with needlelike trichomes.

Basal leaves

persisting;

petiole present or absent;

blade lanceolate to linear, margins usually shallowly, rarely deeply, lobed.

Cauline leaves

petiole absent;

blade ovate to lanceolate, to 40 cm, margins deeply to shallowly lobed.

Bracts

margins pinnate.

green, broadly ovate to lanceolate, 6–12.7 × 3.5–7.7 mm, width 1/2–4/5 length, not concealing capsule, margins 3–10-lobed.

Flowers

petals white, 47–75 × 13–22.7 mm, apex acute to attenuate, glabrous abaxially;

stamens white to yellow, 5 outermost petaloid, filaments spatulate, strongly clawed, 48–75 × 12–23 mm, without anthers, second whorl with anthers;

anthers straight after dehiscence, epidermis smooth;

styles 36–53 mm.

sepals 7–20 mm;

petals usually orange, rarely yellow, proximally, yellow distally, usually elliptic to ovate, rarely obovate, 21–42 × 8–17(–21) mm, apex acute;

stamens 20+, 11–40 mm, filaments heteromorphic, 5 outermost linear, inner filiform, unlobed;

styles 20–35 mm.

Capsules

cylindric, 30–43 × 12–17 mm, base tapering, not longitudinally ridged.

clavate, 20–35 × 3–5 mm, axillary curved to 45° at maturity, usually inconspicuously longitudinally ribbed.

Seeds

2.3–4 mm;

coat anticlinal cell walls straight, papillae 4–10 per cell.

30–40, in 2+ rows distal to mid fruit, tan, dark-mottled, irregularly polygonal, surface minutely tessellate under 10x magnification; recurved flap over hilum absent;

seed coat cell outer periclinal wall domed, domes on seed edges less than 1/2 as tall as wide at maturity.

2n

= 22.

= 36.

Mentzelia decapetala

Mentzelia crocea

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug(–Oct). Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Rock outcrops, slopes, dry short-grass prairies, riverbanks, roadsides, loam, limestone, sandy, silty, clayey, and gravelly soils. Rocky slopes, roadsides, grasslands, oak-pine woodlands.
Elevation 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.) 150–1700 m. (500–5600 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; IA; IL; KS; MN; MT; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; UT; WY; AB; MB; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Mentzelia decapetala is introduced in Grundy County, Illinois. It appears to be native throughout the rest of its distribution.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Mentzelia crocea and M. lindleyi are very similar morphologically and are most reliably distinguished geographically, with M. crocea occurring on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada and M. lindleyi occurring in the Coast Ranges. Low fertility of interspecific crosses supports recognition as separate species (H. J. Thompson 1960), which has been substantiated by genetic differences and non-sister relationships of the two species (J. M. Brokaw and L. Hufford 2010b).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 12, p. 504. FNA vol. 12, p. 536.
Parent taxa Loasaceae > Mentzelia > sect. Bartonia Loasaceae > Mentzelia > sect. Trachyphytum
Sibling taxa
M. affinis, M. albescens, M. albicaulis, M. argillicola, M. argillosa, M. aspera, M. asperula, M. candelariae, M. canyonensis, M. chrysantha, M. collomiae, M. congesta, M. conspicua, M. crocea, M. cronquistii, M. densa, M. desertorum, M. dispersa, M. eremophila, M. filifolia, M. floridana, M. flumensevera, M. goodrichii, M. gracilenta, M. hirsutissima, M. holmgreniorum, M. hualapaiensis, M. humilis, M. integra, M. involucrata, M. inyoensis, M. isolata, M. jonesii, M. laciniata, M. laevicaulis, M. lagarosa, M. leucophylla, M. librina, M. lindheimeri, M. lindleyi, M. longiloba, M. marginata, M. memorabilis, M. mexicana, M. micrantha, M. mollis, M. monoensis, M. montana, M. multicaulis, M. multiflora, M. nitens, M. nuda, M. obscura, M. oligosperma, M. oreophila, M. pachyrhiza, M. packardiae, M. paradoxensis, M. pectinata, M. perennis, M. polita, M. procera, M. pterosperma, M. puberula, M. pumila, M. ravenii, M. reflexa, M. reverchonii, M. rhizomata, M. rusbyi, M. saxicola, M. shultziorum, M. sivinskii, M. speciosa, M. springeri, M. strictissima, M. thompsonii, M. tiehmii, M. todiltoensis, M. torreyi, M. tricuspis, M. tridentata, M. uintahensis, M. veatchiana
M. affinis, M. albescens, M. albicaulis, M. argillicola, M. argillosa, M. aspera, M. asperula, M. candelariae, M. canyonensis, M. chrysantha, M. collomiae, M. congesta, M. conspicua, M. cronquistii, M. decapetala, M. densa, M. desertorum, M. dispersa, M. eremophila, M. filifolia, M. floridana, M. flumensevera, M. goodrichii, M. gracilenta, M. hirsutissima, M. holmgreniorum, M. hualapaiensis, M. humilis, M. integra, M. involucrata, M. inyoensis, M. isolata, M. jonesii, M. laciniata, M. laevicaulis, M. lagarosa, M. leucophylla, M. librina, M. lindheimeri, M. lindleyi, M. longiloba, M. marginata, M. memorabilis, M. mexicana, M. micrantha, M. mollis, M. monoensis, M. montana, M. multicaulis, M. multiflora, M. nitens, M. nuda, M. obscura, M. oligosperma, M. oreophila, M. pachyrhiza, M. packardiae, M. paradoxensis, M. pectinata, M. perennis, M. polita, M. procera, M. pterosperma, M. puberula, M. pumila, M. ravenii, M. reflexa, M. reverchonii, M. rhizomata, M. rusbyi, M. saxicola, M. shultziorum, M. sivinskii, M. speciosa, M. springeri, M. strictissima, M. thompsonii, M. tiehmii, M. todiltoensis, M. torreyi, M. tricuspis, M. tridentata, M. uintahensis, M. veatchiana
Synonyms Bartonia decapetala M. lindleyi subsp. crocea
Name authority (Pursh) Urban: Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 10: 263. (1892) Kellogg: Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 7: 110. (1877)
Web links