Kingdom Plantae Family Loasaceae Scientific name Mentzelia crocea Rank Species | Order Cornales Genus Mentzelia Higher classification Mentzelia | |
Similar Mentzelia, Mentzelia pectinata, Mentzelia dispersa, Mentzelia polita, Mentzelia tricuspis | ||
Mentzelia crocea (Sierra blazingstar, saffron blazing star) is an annual wildflower endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothills of California.
The flowering plant can be found up to 4,920 feet (1,500 m) elevation.
Description
The stem grows up to a meter tall. The lobed leaves in the basal rosette are up to 20 centimeters long; those farther up the stem are smaller. The flower has 5 shiny yellow petals with orange spots at the bases. The petals may reach 3.6 centimeters in length. At the center are many long, whiskery stamens which may approach 3 centimeters long.
The fruit is a narrow utricle up to 3.5 centimeters long containing many tiny seeds which can be seen to be covered in minute bumps when viewed under magnification.
References
Mentzelia crocea Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA