Mentzelia pectinata
Mentzelia ravenii
San Joaquin blazing star
grass blazingstar, Raven's blazingstar
persisting;
petiole present or absent;
blade lanceolate to linear, margins deeply to shallowly lobed.
persisting;
petiole present or absent;
blade linear-lanceolate, margins deeply to shallowly lobed.
petiole absent;
blade ovate to linear, to 12 cm, margins deeply lobed to dentate.
petiole absent;
blade ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, to 18 cm, margins deeply lobed to dentate.
green, ovate to lanceolate, 6.6–12.8 × 1.9–6.8 mm, width 1/5–2/3 length, not concealing capsule, margins 3–7-lobed.
green with prominent white base usually conspicuously extending outwards from midvein, ovate, 5.6–8.4 × 1.8–3.9 mm, width 1/5–2/3 length, not concealing capsule, margins 3–5-lobed.
sepals 3–13 mm;
petals red to orange proximally, orange to yellow distally, 8–22 mm, apex mucronate, rounded, or retuse;
stamens 20+, 4–11 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed;
styles 5–13 mm.
sepals 2–6 mm;
petals orange proximally, yellow distally, 5–11(–13) mm, apex retuse;
stamens 20+, 3–7 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed;
styles 3.5–8 mm.
clavate, 12–35 × 2–4 mm, axillary curved to 90° at maturity, usually inconspicuously longitudinally ribbed.
clavate, 8–23 × 2–3 mm, axillary curved to 45° at maturity, usually inconspicuously longitudinally ribbed.
20–40, in 2+ rows distal to mid fruit, tan, dark-mottled or not, 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.
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 or equal to 1/2 as tall as wide at maturity.
= 18.
= 36.
Mentzelia pectinata
Mentzelia ravenii
Mentzelia pectinata occurs in Kern, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Tulare counties, around the southern rim of the San Joaquin Valley, extending into the Inner Coast Ranges and the southern foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Petal color varies from orange to yellow, and fully fertile artificial hybrids have been obtained between populations representing the extreme phenotypes (J. E. Zavortink 1966). Phylogenetic studies suggest that M. pectinata and M. congesta have hybridized to form several allopolyploid species (J. M. Brokaw and L. Hufford 2010b) despite their current allopatric distributions.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Mentzelia ravenii is narrowly distributed, with most populations limited to desert foothills on the northern edge of the San Gabriel Mountains in northeastern Los Angeles County. Populations of M. ravenii with relatively large flowers with yellow petals are often found growing under desert shrubs in mixed populations with M. veatchiana, which has relatively small flowers with orange petals in this area. A few tetraploid populations from western Riverside County have also been called M. ravenii (J. E. Zavortink 1966); further work is needed to confirm that these represent the same species. See 72. M. gracilenta for discussion of similarities it shares with M. ravenii.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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