Mentzelia pumila
| Mentzelia pumila | |
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| (unranked): | |
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| Species: | M. pumila
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| Binomial name | |
| Mentzelia pumila | |
Mentzelia pumila, (dwarf mentzelia, desert blazing star, blazing star, bullet stickleaf, golden blazing star,[1] yellow mentzelia, evening star, moonflower, Wyoming stickleaf,[1] etc.) is a biennial wildflower found in the western United States and northwestern Mexico from Montana and North Dakota, south to Sonora and Chihuahua. It is a blazingstar and is a member of the Mentzelia genus, the stickleafs; member species are also called "evening stars", but some stickleafs close at sunset, as does M. pumila.
Leaves of Mentzelia pumila are long, very narrow, and serrated-pinnate-like; also medium to light grayish green; an individual plant in an opportune site can be 1.5-2.5 feet (1 m) in height. The flowers are a bright, glossy medium yellow, and the major petals are variable, sometimes 5 major, 5 minor; also 4 and 4.
Mentzelia pumila is covered in minute elaborations known as trichomes, which pierce and trap insects that land on it. A species of aphid, Macrosyphum mentzeliae colonises the plant and is afforded protection, since its main predator, the ladybird beetle, is unable to avoid the trichomes. [2]
Uses
The root is a laxative.[3] The Zuni people insert this plant into the rectum as a suppository for constipation.[4] The plant is also used to whip children to make them strong so they could hold on to a horse without falling.[5]
Footnotes
- ^ a b "USDA GRIN Taxonomy". Retrieved 5 September 2014.
- ^ Eisner, Thomas (2003). For Love of Insects. Harvard University Press. pp. 299–304. ISBN 0-674-01827-3.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20090117124509/http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Mentzelia+pumila. Archived from the original on January 17, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 (p. 57)
- ^ Stevenson, p.84
References
External links
- Photo-Medium Res--(NOTE: 5-1/2 major petals, 5 minor-(a VARIATION)); Article - www.saguaro-juniper.com – "Wildflowers on Saguaro-Juniper Lands"
- Photo-High Res--(Field Photo); Photo-(Flower-(and Seed pod)--Very High Res); Article - www.naturesongs.com – "Verde Valley-(Arizona) Plants"
