Mentzelia laevicaulis (Douglas) Torr. & A.Gray

Smoothstem blazingstar (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Cornales > Loasaceae > Mentzelia

Characteristics

Plants biennial or perennial (in rosette stage), bushlike. Stems solitary, erect, straight; branches distal or along entire stem, proximal or distal longest, antrorse, upcurved; hairy or glabrescent. Leaves: blade 17.4–196 × 6.7–40.4 mm, widest intersinus distance 2.4–24.6 mm; proximal oblanceolate, lanceolate, or elliptic, margins pinnate, lobes 14–44, slightly antrorse, 2.5–8.9 mm; distal lanceolate, base clasping or not, margins pinnate, lobes 6–42, slightly antrorse, 2.1–13.8 mm; abaxial surface with simple grappling-hook, complex grappling-hook, and needlelike trichomes, adaxial surface with needlelike trichomes. Bracts: margins entire or pinnate. Flowers: petals golden yellow, 23.5–70 × 3–17.3 mm, apex acute, glabrous abaxially; stamens golden yellow, 5 outermost not petaloid, filaments linear to narrowly elliptic, not clawed, 17.7–55 × 0.5–2(–2.5) mm, with anthers, second whorl with anthers; anthers straight after dehiscence, epidermis smooth; styles 20.4–57 mm. Capsules cup-shaped to cylindric, 10.6–43 × 6.3–11.1 mm, base tapering or rounded, not longitudinally ridged. Seeds: coat anticlinal cell walls straight, papillae 4–11 per cell. 2n = 22.
More
A grey herb that can keep growing from year to year. The flowers are yellow. The seeds have wings.
Life form
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) -
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows on dry open sites.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-9

Usage

The seeds are oily and can be dried and ground into flour. They can be added to soups and stews.
Uses medicinal oil
Edible seeds
Therapeutic use Dermatological Aid (leaf), Gastrointestinal Aid (leaf), Antirheumatic (Internal) (root), Dietary Aid (root), Ear Medicine (root), Febrifuge (root), Misc. Disease Remedy (root), Unspecified (root), Dermatological Aid (root), Unspecified (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 6 - 21
Germination temperacture (C°) 12 - 15
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
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Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Flower

Mentzelia laevicaulis flower picture by Travis Grimes (cc-by-sa)
Mentzelia laevicaulis flower picture by Al Toth (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Mentzelia laevicaulis world distribution map, present in Canada and United States of America

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:545430-1
WFO ID wfo-0001073680
COL ID 3ZSK8
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Hesperaster laevicaulis Touterea laevicaulis Nuttallia laevicaulis Mentzelia acuminata Nuttallia acuminata Mentzelia laevicaulis var. laevicaulis Mentzelia laevicaulis var. acuminata Mentzelia laevicaulis

Lower taxons

Mentzelia laevicaulis var. parviflora