Mentzelia crocea

Mentzelia crocea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Cornales
Family: Loasaceae
Genus: Mentzelia
Species: M. crocea
Binomial name
Mentzelia crocea
Kellogg

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


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.