Mentzelia veatchiana

Mentzelia veatchiana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Cornales
Family:	Loasaceae
Genus:	Mentzelia
Species:	M. veatchiana
Binomial name
Mentzelia veatchiana Kellogg

Mentzelia veatchiana is a species of flowering plant in the family Loasaceae known by the common name Veatch's blazingstar.

It is native to the western United States from Oregon and southern Idaho, south through California and Arizona, to northwestern Mexico in Baja California and Sonora. It grows in many types of habitat, from grassland to chaparral scrub, woodland, and deserts, mostly below 8,000 feet (2,400 m) elevation.

Description

Mentzelia veatchiana is a branched hairy annual herb growing erect to a maximum height near 45 centimeters. The leaves are up to 18 centimeters long. The basal leaves are lobed and may be stalked. The stem leaves are sessile and generally lobed or toothed.

The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers on the ends of stalks. The bracts are mostly ovate with teeth or lobes but sometimes entire. Sepals are 1–5 millimetres (0.04–0.20 in). The orange to yellow petals are generally 4–7 millimetres (0.2–0.3 in) with red to orange bases.

The fruit is a utricle roughly 1 to 3 centimeters long which contains many tiny angular seeds.

External links

• Media related to Mentzelia veatchiana at Wikimedia Commons
• Mentzelia veatchiana — U.C. Photo gallery