The BioFiles - Bill Hubick

Torrey's Blazing Star (Mentzelia torreyi)

Source: Wikipedia

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

Mentzelia torreyi is a species of flowering plant in the family Loasaceae known by the common name Torrey's blazingstar. It is native to the western United States where it grows in the Great Basin and surrounding areas in desert, scrub, woodland, and other habitat.

Mentzelia torreyi at Mono Lake, CA

Description

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It is a perennial herb growing in a small clump 10 to 16 centimeters high. The leaves are 2 to 4 centimeters long, sometimes divided into a few narrow lobes with rolled edges.

The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers each with yellow petals up to 1.5 centimeters long and many whiskery stamens each up to a centimeter in length. The fruit is an urn-shaped utricle containing many tiny bullet-shaped seeds.

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