Mentzelia veatchiana
Mentzelia affinis
Veatch's blazing star, white-stem blazingstar, white-stem stick-leaf
yellow comet
persisting;
petiole present or absent;
blade linear-lanceolate, margins deeply to shallowly lobed.
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 absent;
blade ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, to 17 cm, margins usually deeply lobed to dentate, rarely entire.
petiole absent;
blade ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, to 17 cm, margins usually dentate or entire, rarely deeply lobed.
usually green with prominent white base usually conspicuously extending outwards from midvein, rarely green, usually ovate, rarely lanceolate, 3.3–6.2 × 1.5–3.2 mm, width 1/4–7/8 length, not concealing capsule, margins usually 3–7-lobed, rarely 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 2–5 mm;
petals red to orange proximally, orange to yellow distally, 4–7(–10) mm, apex retuse;
stamens 20+, 3–7 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed;
styles (3–)3.5–6 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.
clavate, 8–28 × 2–4 mm, axillary curved to 70° at maturity, usually inconspicuously longitudinally ribbed.
narrowly cylindric, 7–32 × 1–3 mm, axillary curved to 90° at maturity, often prominently longitudinally ribbed.
15–35, 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.
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.
= 54.
= 18.
Mentzelia veatchiana
Mentzelia affinis
Mentzelia veatchiana is the most common and widely distributed hexaploid species in sect. Trachyphytum. It exhibits considerable morphological variation and can be difficult to distinguish from M. montana in northern California. Like the larger-flowered M. pectinata, M. veatchiana has interfertile populations with petal colors ranging from orange to yellow (J. E. Zavortink 1966). When bearing orange petals, M. veatchiana is easily distinguished from other species. Reports of M. veatchiana from Utah are based on specimens treated here as M. montana.
(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.)
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
