Mentzelia decapetala |
Mentzelia monoensis |
|
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10-petal western star, evening starflower, gumbo-lily, tenpetal blazingstar |
Mono craters blazing star |
|
Habit | Plants biennial or perennial, bushlike, perennials with ground-level caudices. | Plants candelabra-form, 10–30 cm. |
Stems | solitary, erect, straight; branches distal or along entire stem, proximal or distal longest, antrorse, straight to upcurved; hairy. |
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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. |
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Basal leaves | persisting; petiole present or absent; blade linear-lanceolate to linear, margins usually moderately to shallowly lobed, rarely entire. |
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Cauline leaves | petiole present or absent (proximal leaves), absent (distal leaves); blade linear-lanceolate to linear (proximal leaves), ovate to linear (distal leaves), to 13 cm, margins usually moderately to shallowly lobed, rarely entire. |
|
Bracts | margins pinnate. |
green, sometimes with white base, ovate, 3–4.1 × 1.1–1.7 mm, width 1/4–1/2 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 2–3 mm; petals orange proximally, yellow distally, 2–4 mm, apex retuse or rounded; stamens 10–30, 2–3 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed; styles 2–3 mm. |
Capsules | cylindric, 30–43 × 12–17 mm, base tapering, not longitudinally ridged. |
cylindric or clavate, 6–15 × 2–3 mm, axillary curved to 20° 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, not dark-mottled, usually irregularly polygonal, occasionally triangular prisms proximal to mid fruit, surface colliculate 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. |
= 54. |
Mentzelia decapetala |
Mentzelia monoensis |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug(–Oct). | Flowering May–Aug. |
Habitat | Rock outcrops, slopes, dry short-grass prairies, riverbanks, roadsides, loam, limestone, sandy, silty, clayey, and gravelly soils. | Coarse pumice soils on open slopes, sagebrush or bitterbrush scrub, pine forests. |
Elevation | 300–2400 m. (1000–7900 ft.) | 2000–2500 m. (6600–8200 ft.) |
Distribution |
CO; IA; IL; KS; MN; MT; NE; NM; OK; SD; TX; UT; WY; AB; MB; SK
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CA |
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 monoensis is narrowly distributed predominantly south of Mono Lake and north of Lake Crowley in Mono County, California, and is most commonly found in soils derived from the eruptions of the Mono Craters (J. M. Brokaw et al. 2015). Phylogenetic studies suggest that this hexaploid is the only allopolyploid derived from representatives of both the “Affines” and “Trachyphyta” clades (Brokaw and L. Hufford 2010b). Mentzelia monoensis is morphologically similar to sympatric populations of M. montana. However, the bracts of M. monoensis are more often unlobed and green throughout. Furthermore, seeds of M. monoensis have tan, unmottled coats that are always composed of cells that are rounded, appearing as shallow domes. In contrast, seeds of M. montana have mottled coats with cells that stand out as rough, pointed knobs along the seed edges. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 504. | FNA vol. 12, p. 539. |
Parent taxa | Loasaceae > Mentzelia > sect. Bartonia | Loasaceae > Mentzelia > sect. Trachyphytum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Bartonia decapetala | |
Name authority | (Pursh) Urban: Ber. Deutsch. Bot. Ges. 10: 263. (1892) | J. M. Brokaw & L. Hufford: Madroño 58: 57, figs. 1,2A,3. (2011) |
Web links |