Mentzelia albicaulis (White-stemmed Blazing Star, Small-flowered Blazing Star)

4/3/17 Ricardo Campground, Red Rock Canyon State Park,

Kern County, CA

 3/22/03 Hagen Canyon Nature Trail, Red Rock Canyon State Park, Kern County, CA

3/22/03 Hagen Canyon Nature Trail

 3/21/04 Wash off west side of Cottonwood Road, south of Visitor Center, 

Joshua Tree National Park, Riverside County, CA

 2/27/05 San Felipe Wash, Anza Borrego Desert State Park,

San Diego County, CA

3/25/05 Hwy. 178 between Shoshone and Salsberry Pass, 1 mile west of Shoshone, 

just outside boundary of Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, CA

LIFE LIST NOTES:

COMMON NAME: White-stemmed Blazing Star, Small-flowered Blazing Star

SPECIES: Mentzelia albicaulis 

FAMILY: Loasaceae (Stickler Family)

LIFE LIST DATE: 3/22/2003

LOCATION: Hagen Canyon Nature Trail, Red Rock Canyon State Park, Kern County, CA

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Treatment from The Jepson Manual (1993):

Annual 5–42 cm

Stem decumbent to erect, white

Leaves 1–11 cm; lower lobed (comb-like); upper entire to lobed (comb-like)

Inflorescence: bract lanceolate to ovate, entire or with 2–4 small teeth or angles, base rarely faintly whitish

Flower: sepals 1–5 mm; petals 2–7 mm, base sometimes with yellow spot; stamens 3–5 mm; style 2–5 mm

Fruit 8–28 mm, 1.5–3.5 mm wide, straight, sometimes curved < 180°

Seed 1–1.5 mm, grain-like, pointed-papillate; angles acute

Ecology: Gravel fans, washes, scrub to pinyon/juniper woodland

Elevation: 500–2300 m.  

Bioregional distribution: Tehachapi Mountain Area, San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains, Great Basin Floristic Province, Desert 

Distribution outside California: to British Columbia, Colorado, Baja California

Flowering time: Mar–Jul