Mentzelia crocea

Mentzelia crocea, the Sierra blazingstar or saffron blazing star, is an annual wildflower endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothills of California.

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

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.

gollark: --magic py 5
gollark: \<:p_mosfet:798503052012552202>
gollark: <:p_mosfet:798503052012552202>
gollark: ++magic py await ctx.send("Bee")
gollark: ++magic py print("bee")

References


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