Bushy blazingstar

Description

Mentzelia dispersa is a species of flowering plant in the family Loasaceae known by the common name bushy blazingstar. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to the Dakotas, where it grows in many types of habitat. It is an annual herb producing an erect stem up to nearly half a meter in maximum height. The leaves are divided into lobes and teeth, the longest in the basal rosette approaching 10 centimeters long and those higher on the stem reduced in size. The lightly hairy inflorescence is an open cluster of flowers each with five small, shiny yellow petals a few millimeters long. The fruit is a narrow, straight or curving utricle up to 2.5 centimeters long which contains many tiny angular seeds. Mentzelia is a genus of about 60-70 species of flowering plants in the family Loasaceae, native to the Americas. The genus comprises annual, biennial, and perennial herbaceous plants and a few shrubs. They are commonly called blazing stars or stickleafs; other names include evening stars and moonflowers.