Mentzelia reflexa
Encyclopedia
Mentzelia reflexa is a species of flowering plant in the family Loasaceae
known by the common name reflexed blazingstar.
It is native to the Mojave Desert
and adjacent mountain ranges in California
and Nevada
, where it grows in rocky habitat and sometimes disturbed areas.
is a cluster of flowers each with eight pale yellow petals. The fruit is a cylindrical utricle roughly a centimeter long containing many tiny bumpy white seeds.
Loasaceae
The Loasaceae is a family of 15-20 genera and about 200-260 species of flowering plants in the order Cornales, native to the Americas and Africa. The family comprises annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous plants, and a few shrubs and small trees.Genera...
known by the common name reflexed blazingstar.
It is native to the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
and adjacent mountain ranges in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, where it grows in rocky habitat and sometimes disturbed areas.
Description
It is an annual herb growing up to 20 centimeters tall and taking a rounded or clumped form. The abundant leaves are up to 10 centimeters long and toothed along the edges. The inflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a cluster of flowers each with eight pale yellow petals. The fruit is a cylindrical utricle roughly a centimeter long containing many tiny bumpy white seeds.