TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) previous taxon | next taxon
Jepson Interchange (more information)
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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. inyoensis B. Prigge

Perennial 15–40 cm
Leaves 4–11 cm, lobed
Inflorescence: bract generally linear, entire, sometimes 2-lobed at base
Flower: sepals 4–12 mm; petals 11–18 mm, clawed; stamens 5–15 mm; outer filaments < 1.5 mm wide; style 10–13 mm
Fruit generally 12–16(25) mm, 6–8 mm wide, cylindric
Seed 2–3 mm, ± 2 mm wide, lenticular, faintly fine-pebbled, winged
Chromosomes: n=11
Ecology: Rocky slopes, canyons
Elevation: 1900–2000 m.
Bioregional distribution: n White and Inyo Mountains (White Mtns)
Distribution outside California: Nevada

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bioregional map for MENTZELIA%20inyoensis being generated
 
N.B. The distribution depicted here differs from that given in The Jepson Manual (1993)

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