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

Jones stickleaf, Jones' blazing star

Habit Plants biennial or perennial, bushlike, perennials with ground-level caudices. Plants candelabra-form, 20–40(–50) 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 linear-lanceolate to linear, margins deeply lobed to dentate.

Cauline leaves

petiole absent;

blade ovate-lanceolate to linear, to 15 cm, margins deeply to shallowly lobed or entire.

Bracts

margins pinnate.

green, ovate to lanceolate, 3.7–5.9 × 0.8–3.9 mm, width 1/8–2/3 length, not concealing capsule, margins entire.

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 (2–)4–8(–10) mm;

petals yellow to orange proximally, yellow distally, (6–)8–22 mm, apex acute to rounded;

stamens 20+, 3–10 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed;

styles 4–10 mm.

Capsules

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

clavate, 15–38 × 2–4 mm, axillary curved to 180° or S-shaped at maturity, usually inconspicuously longitudinally ribbed.

Seeds

2.3–4 mm;

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

15–30, in 2+ rows distal to mid fruit, tan, dark-mottled, usually irregularly polygonal, occasionally triangular prisms proximal to mid fruit, surface tuberculate under 10x magnification; recurved flap over hilum absent;

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

2n

= 22.

= 36, 54.

Mentzelia decapetala

Mentzelia jonesii

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug(–Oct). Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Rock outcrops, slopes, dry short-grass prairies, riverbanks, roadsides, loam, limestone, sandy, silty, clayey, and gravelly soils. Sandy to rocky washes, fans, or flats, creosote-bush scrub, Joshua-tree or saguaro woodlands.
Elevation 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.) 200–1500 m. (700–4900 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
AZ; CA; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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 jonesii is widespread throughout southeastern California and western and southern Arizona. However, tetraploid populations have been found only in California and far northwestern Arizona. Hexaploids in California have previously been called M. californica. The ranges of M. jonesii and the diploid, M. nitens, overlap in southern Inyo County, California, and these species are difficult to distinguish morphologically without mature seeds; sepal and petal lengths, which have sometimes been used to distinguish them, overlap completely.

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

Source FNA vol. 12, p. 504. FNA vol. 12, p. 537.
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. crocea, 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. 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. albicaulis var. jonesii, M. californica, M. nitens var. jonesii
Name authority (Pursh) Urban: Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 10: 263. (1892) (Urban & Gilg) H. J. Thompson & J. E. Roberts: Phytologia 21: 282. (1971)
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