Blazingstar
by Robert Bales
Title
Blazingstar
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
found this while exploring the back county of Southwest Idaho near Emmett, Idaho.
The blazingstars or stickleafs (Mentzelia) are sometimes known as nature�s Velcro because of the ease with which their leaves become fastened to fur or fabric. These sticky qualities derive from numerous hairs found on the leaf surface, each of which is ringed by barbs or downward-pointing bristles. The adaptive value of this stickiness is poorly known, though the authors of the Intermountain Flora have suggested that the force of an animal tugging against the plant may be sufficient to shake seeds out of the fruit capsules.
Smoothstem blazingstar (Mentzelia laevicaulis) is a biennial or short-lived perennial with whitish stems up to 40 inches tall and wavy-margined, sticky leaves. It ranges widely across western North America from southern Canada to California, Utah, and Colorado, inhabiting barren slopes and disturbed roadsides. This species is unusual within its genus of 60 species (nearly all found in the western United States) in having exceptionally large flowers (1� to 3 inches across) with just 5 yellow petals. Most other species in the genus have 8 to ten or more petals, with the extras derived from modified stamens. Similar to cultivated, multi-petaled roses, the filament stalks of the stamen have become widened and enlarged into petal-like structures and have lost the pollen-producing services of the anther. The flowers of smoothstem blazingstar open at dusk and remain open overnight and into early morning before closing for the afternoon. Hawkmoths are thought to be the primary pollinator.
From USDA
Uploaded
September 22nd, 2016
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Viewed 581 Times - Last Visitor from El Segundo, CA on 04/17/2024 at 10:38 PM
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