Mentzelia eremophila |
Mentzelia uintahensis |
|
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pinyon blazing star, solitary blazing star |
Uintah blazingstar |
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Habit | Plants candelabra-form, (7–)30–50(–60) cm. | Plants perennial, bushlike, with subterranean caudices or rhizomes. |
Stems | multiple, erect, zigzag or straight; branches distal or along entire stem, distal longest or all ± equal, antrorse, upcurved; hairy. |
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Leaves | blade 17–56 × 5.8–28 mm, widest intersinus distance 1–4.9(–6) mm; proximal oblanceolate to elliptic, margins pinnate to pinnatisect, lobes 4–12, antrorse, 1.9–7.7 mm; distal elliptic to lanceolate, base not clasping, margins pinnate to pinnatisect, lobes 4–12, antrorse, 2.6–13.3 mm; abaxial surface with simple grappling-hook and occasionally complex grappling-hook and needlelike trichomes, adaxial surface with simple grappling-hook and needlelike trichomes. |
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Basal leaves | persisting; petiole present or absent; blade linear-lanceolate to linear, margins very deeply lobed, lobes slender. |
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Cauline leaves | petiole absent; blade ovate-lanceolate to linear, to 15 cm, margins deeply to shallowly lobed or entire. |
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Bracts | green, ovate to lanceolate, 4.8–12.4 × 0.9–3.5 mm, width 1/8–1/2 length, not concealing capsule, margins usually entire, rarely 2-lobed. |
margins entire. |
Flowers | sepals (7–)9–16 mm; petals yellow, 12–25 mm, apex acute or mucronate; stamens 20+, 3–10 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed; styles 7–15 mm. |
petals golden yellow, 8.5–15.2 × 3.8–7.9 mm, apex acute to rounded, glabrous abaxially; stamens golden yellow, 5 outermost petaloid, filaments broadly spatulate, strongly clawed, 5–10.4 × 2.8–6 mm, with anthers, second whorl with anthers; anthers usually twisted after dehiscence, epidermis smooth; styles 5.8–8.5 mm. |
Capsules | clavate, 19–40 × 2–3.5 mm, axillary curved to 270° at maturity, usually inconspicuously longitudinally ribbed. |
cup-shaped, 4.2–8.8 × 3.6–5.8 mm, base tapering to rounded, not longitudinally ridged. |
Seeds | 30–60, in 2+ rows distal to mid fruit, tan, usually dark-mottled, usually irregularly polygonal, occasionally triangular prisms proximal to mid fruit, surface colliculate under 10x magnification; recurved flap over hilum usually present; seed coat cell outer periclinal wall domed, domes on seed edges less than 1/2 as tall as wide at maturity. |
coat anticlinal cell walls straight, papillae 4–7 per cell. |
2n | = 18. |
= 22. |
Mentzelia eremophila |
Mentzelia uintahensis |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–May. | Flowering May–Sep. |
Habitat | Rocky slopes, washes, canyons, creosote-bush scrub. | Sparsely vegetated steep talus slopes and roadcuts. |
Elevation | 600–1300 m. (2000–4300 ft.) | 1500–2800 m. (4900–9200 ft.) |
Distribution |
CA
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CO; UT |
Discussion | Mentzelia eremophila is narrowly distributed in eastern Kern and northwestern San Bernardino counties. It is morphologically similar and closely related to M. nitens (J. M. Brokaw and L. Hufford 2010). However, M. eremophila generally has longer sepals, petals, and styles, and populations of M. nitens have not been found south of Inyo County in California. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Mentzelia uintahensis is known from northwestern Colorado (Rio Blanco, Mesa, and Moffat counties) and northeastern Utah (Carbon, Duchesne, and Uintah counties). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 12, p. 537. | FNA vol. 12, p. 510. |
Parent taxa | Loasaceae > Mentzelia > sect. Trachyphytum | Loasaceae > Mentzelia > sect. Bartonia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | M. lindleyi var. eremophila | M. multicaulis var. uintahensis |
Name authority | (Jepson) H. J. Thompson & J. E. Roberts: Phytologia 21: 281. (1971) | (N. H. Holmgren & P. K. Holmgren) J. J. Schenk & L. Hufford: Novon 19: 120. (2009) |
Web links |