LOASACEAE

LOASA FAMILY

Barry Prigge

Annual to shrub; hairs needle-like, stinging, or rough
Leaves alternate in CA, generally ± pinnately lobed; stipules 0
Inflorescence various
Flower bisexual, radial; sepals generally 5, generally persistent in fruit; petals generally 5, free or fused to each other or to filament tube; stamens 5–many, filaments thread-like to flat, sometimes fused at base or in clusters; petal-like staminodes sometimes present; pistil 1, ovary inferior, chamber generally 1, placentas generally 3, parietal, style 1
Fruit: generally capsule (utricle)
Seeds 1–many
Genera in family: 15 genera, ± 200 species: especially Am (Africa, Pacific)
Reference: [Ernst & Thompson 1963 J Arnold Arbor 44:138–142]

MENTZELIA

BLAZING STAR

Annual to shrub; hairs generally barbed-rough (smooth)
Leaf linear to ovate, generally ± lobed; basal in rosettes, generally petioled; cauline generally sessile, ± reduced upward
Inflorescence: generally cyme (or flower 1); bract generally 1 per flower, generally green
Flower: sepals lanceolate to deltate, generally persistent; petals 5, free, generally yellow; stamens generally many, ± free, generally unequal, inner filaments generally thread-like; staminodes 0 or 5–many, outer often petal-like; ovary generally cylindric, placentas generally 3, style thread-like, stigma 3-furrowed or -lobed
Fruit generally tapered to base, sometimes curved
Seeds generally many, grain- to prism-like (triangular in X -section), angled, or lenticular and winged (important to identification)
Species in genus: ± 50 species: w US, ± tropical Am
Reference: [Darlington 1934 Ann Missouri Bot Garden 21:103–226]

Native

M. pectinata Kellogg

Annual 8–54 cm
Stem erect, branched throughout, greenish
Leaves 2–12 cm; lower generally lobed (comb-like); upper acutely lobed
Inflorescence: bract often fused to ovary base, narrowly lanceolate to ovate, entire to 5-toothed
Flower: sepals 3–13 mm; petals 8–22 mm, yellow to orange, base often with reddish or orange spot, tip obtuse to notched; stamens 4–11 mm, outer > inner; style 5–13 mm
Fruit 12–35 mm, 2–4 mm wide, straight
Seed 1–2 mm, grain-like, checkered or not; angles irregular, sharp; sides concave
Ecology: Steep slopes, grassland, oak woodland
Elevation: < 1800 m.
Bioregional distribution: s Sierra Nevada Foothills, Tehachapi Mountain Area, Inner South Coast Ranges
Horticultural information: DRN, DRY, SUN: 7, 9, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21; DFCLT.