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pinyon blazing star, solitary blazing star

Uintah blazingstar

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.

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.

Basal leaves

persisting;

petiole present or absent;

blade linear-lanceolate to linear, margins very deeply lobed, lobes slender.

Cauline leaves

petiole absent;

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

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
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; UT
[BONAP county map]
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
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. 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. 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. veatchiana
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)
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