Mentzelia mollis
Mentzelia affinis
smooth blazingstar, smooth stick-leaf, soft blazingstar
yellow comet
not persisting.
persisting;
petiole present or absent;
blade linear-lanceolate to linear, margins usually deeply to moderately lobed, sinuses extending 1/4+ to midvein, rarely entire.
petiole present (proximal leaves), absent (distal leaves);
blade lanceolate to linear (proximal leaves), ovate to lanceolate (distal leaves), to 6 cm, margins dentate or entire (proximal leaves), entire (distal leaves).
petiole absent;
blade ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, to 17 cm, margins usually dentate or entire, rarely deeply lobed.
green, ovate to elliptic, 5–8.5 × 2–5 mm, width 2/5–3/5 length, not concealing capsule, margins entire.
green, ovate to lanceolate, 2.7–6.6 × 0.9–2.1 mm, width 1/5–1/3 length, not concealing capsule, margins 3-lobed or entire.
sepals 3–5.5 mm;
petals yellow to orange proximally, yellow distally, 8–12 mm, apex rounded;
stamens 20+, 3–8 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed;
styles 7–9 mm.
sepals 1–7 mm;
petals yellow to orange proximally, yellow distally, 4–12 mm, apex acute;
stamens 20+, 3–6.5 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed;
styles 3–6.5 mm.
cylindric or clavate, 5–22 × 2–4 mm, axillary curved to 45° at maturity, often prominently longitudinally ribbed.
narrowly cylindric, 7–32 × 1–3 mm, axillary curved to 90° at maturity, often prominently longitudinally ribbed.
15–25, in 2+ rows distal to mid fruit, tan, dark-mottled, irregularly polygonal, surface smooth to minutely tessellate under 10x magnification; recurved flap over hilum absent;
seed coat cell outer periclinal wall flat to slightly convex.
10–20, in 1 row distal to mid fruit, tan, dark-mottled or not, triangular prisms, surface ±smooth under 10x magnification; recurved flap over hilum absent;
seed coat cell outer periclinal wall flat.
= 36.
= 18.
Mentzelia mollis
Mentzelia affinis
Mentzelia mollis is narrowly distributed in eastern Malheur County, Oregon, and western Owyhee County, Idaho, and disjunctly in the Black Rock Range of Humboldt County, Nevada. Recent phylogenetic studies support treatment of these disjunct populations as a single species (J. M. Brokaw and L. Hufford 2010b). In both ranges, M. mollis is predominantly limited to barren soils with high salinity. Mentzelia mollis is listed as endangered by the Oregon Department of Agriculture and is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Herbarium specimens of Mentzelia affinis are often difficult to distinguish from those of M. dispersa despite distinct evolutionary histories (J. M. Brokaw and L. Hufford 2010). Several characters, including flower size, leaf margins, and capsule surfaces, differ substantially between these species, but habitat is the most dependable diagnostic character. Verified populations of M. affinis have not been found above 1200 meters in desert habitats, and grassland populations are usually restricted to much lower elevations. Sympatric populations of M. affinis and M. dispersa have not been found, and, in areas of range overlap in southern California, M. dispersa has not been found below 1200 meters or in desert vegetation.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
OR
CalFlora
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
