LOASA FAMILY 139 



11. Mentzelia dispersa S. Wats. Nada Stick-leaf. Fig. 3290. 



Mentzelia albicaulis var. integrifolia S. Wats. Bot. King Expl. 114. 1871. 

 Mentzelia dispersa S. Wats. Proc. Amer. Acad. 11: 137. 1876. 

 Acrolasia integrifolia Rydb. Bull. Torrey Club 30: 278. 1903. 



Annual, the stems branching from the base, 3-6 dm. high, finely pubescent. Leaves pubescent, 

 hardly scabrous, the basal oblanceolate, 3-6 cm. long, entire, the middle entire or sahently 

 toothed, narrowly oblong-lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, the upper entire, shorter and broader ; 

 flowers scattered; bracts broadly ovate to spatulate, entire, herbaceous; sepals 1-2 mm. long, 

 subulate; petals yellow, 2-3.5 mm. long; capsule narrowly cylindric, 15-25 mm. long, densely 

 pubescent ; seeds cubical, grooved on the angles, muriculate on the sides. 



Drv sandy or gravelly soils, Sonoran and Arid Transition Zones; eastern Washington to northern Lower 



locality: East Humboldt Mountains, Nevada. May-Aug. 



Mentzelia dispersa var. latifolia (Rydb.) J. F. Macbride, Contr. Gray Herb. No. 56: 26. 1918. A more 

 robust plant differing from the typical species chiefly in the larger flowers, the petals being 5-6 mm. long. 

 Eastern Washington to central California, east of the Sierra Nevada. Type locality: mountains between bun- 

 shine and Ward, Colorado. 



12. Mentzelia albicavilis Dougl. White-stemmed Stick-leaf. Fig. 3291. 



Bartonia albicaulis Dougl. ex Hook. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1:222. 1834. 



Mentzelia albicaulis Dougl. ex Hook. loc. cit., as a synonym; A. Gray, Smiths. Contr. 3^: 74. 1852. 



Acrolasia albicaulis Rydb. Bull. Torrey Club 30: 277. 1903. 



Annual, the stems 1-4 dm. high, slender, usually branched and decumbent at base, white, 

 smooth and shining above, sparsely pubescent below. Leaves sessile, scabrous, the lower linear- 

 lanceolate, 3-5 cm. long, the middle with linear lobes, the upper merely toothed or entire ; flowers 

 a.xillary, the lower solitary, the upper usually in clusters of three; sepals 2-2.5 mm.long; petals 

 obovate, 3-4 mm. long, golden yellow and prominently veined; capsule narrowly cylindric, 10-15 

 mm. long; seeds irregularly angled, finely muriculate. 



Arizona 

 locality : 

 June-Aug. Kuha. 



13. Mentzelia Veatchiana Kell. Veatch's Stick-leaf. Fig. 3292. 



Mentzelia Veatchiana Kell. Proc. Calif. Acad. 2: 99. 1861. 



Acrolasia Veatchiana Rydb. Bull. Torrey Club 30: 278. 1903. 



Mentzelia gracilenta var. Veatchiana Jepson, Man. Fl. PI. Calif. 652. 192S. 



Annual, the stems rather slender, branching, 3-6 dm. high, greenish or yellowish white, 

 glabrous or sparsely puberulent Basal leaves narrowly oblanceolate, narrowed at base to a 

 petiole; the cauline sessile, lanceolate mostly sinuate-pinnatifid or toothed, or the uppermost 

 usually entire ; flowers in small clusters at the end of the branches : bracts herbaceous, ovate to 

 lanceolate ; sepals subulate, 2-3 mm. long ; petals yellow, obovate, 4-6 mm. long, strongly veined ; 

 capsule slender, clavate-cylindric, 20-25 mm. long; seeds somewhat prismatic, grooved on one 

 angle, conspicuously tuberculate. 



Light sandy or gravelly soils, Sonoran Zones; southeastern Oregon to the deserts of southern California, 

 east to Utah and Arizona. Type locality: vicinity of Virginia City, Nevada. April-Aug. 



14. Mentzelia gracilenta Torr. & Gray. Slender Stick-leaf. Fig. 3293. 



Mentzelia gracilenta Torr. & Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 534. 1840. 

 Mentzelia albicaulis var. gracilenta S. Wats. Bot. King Expl. 151. 1871. 

 Acrolasia gracilenta 'Ry Ah. Bull. Torrey Club 30: 278. 1903. 



Annual, the stems simple or sparingly branched, greenish or yellowish white, more or less 

 pubescent especially above. Basal leaves narrowed to a petiole, the cauline sessile, oblong- 

 lanceolate, all sinuate-pinnatifid, sparselv pubescent and somewhat scabrous; flowers solitary or 

 in small clusters at the ends of the branches ; bracts ovate-lanceolate, sinuate-toothed, herbaceous, 

 villous ; sepals 5-6 mm. long, lanceolate ; petals obovate, 8-14 mm. long, golden yellow ; stamens 

 about 40, outer filaments subulate; capsule somewhat clavate or obconic, 12-18 mm. long, seeds 

 subprismatic and grooved on one angle, minutely tuberculate. 



Dry slopes in light soil, Upper Sonoran Zone; Coast Ranges of central and southern California. Type 

 locality: California. May-July. Buckaroo Penny. 



15. Mentzelia pectinata Kell. San Joaquin Blazing Star. Fig. 3294. 



Mentzelia pectinata Kell. Proc. Calif. Acad. 3: 40. 1863. 



Acrolasia pectinata Rydb. Bull. Torrey Club 30: 278. 1903. 



Mentzelia gracilenta var. pectinata Jepson, Man. Fl. PI. Calif. 652. 1925. 



Annual, the stems rather stout and usually with spreading branches. Leaves sessile, broadly 

 lanceolate, pectinately lobed or pinnatifid, usually acuminate, sparingly scabrous-pubescent; 

 bracts lanceolate, few-toothed, herbaceous ; sepals narrowly lanceolate, 5-6 mm. long, spreading 

 or reflexed in fruit; petals orange above, coppery red toward the base, obovate, 10-15 mm. long; 



