Whitestem Blazing Star
Mentzelia albicaulis
Whitestem blazing star is an annual herb producing a stem up to 42 centimeters long, sometimes growing erect. The flower has five shiny yellow petals 2 to 7 millimeters long each. The fruit is a narrow, straight or curving utricle 1 to 3 centimeters long. It contains many angular seeds covered in tiny bumps.
Color: Yellow
Common name: Whitestem Blazing Star
Latin name: Mentzelia albicaulis
Family: LOASACEAE
Height: 2-16.5 inches
Leaf: The leaves are up to 11 centimeters long in the basal rosette, divided into even comblike lobes, and smaller farther up on the plant.
Range: Desert, Tehachapi Mountain Area, San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains, Great Basin Floristic Province
Habitat: Gravel fans, washes, scrub to pinyon/juniper woodland
Elevation: 500–2300 m.
Flowering time: Mar–Jul
Notes: Mentzelia albicaulis is a dicot that is native to California and is also found elsewhere in North America and beyond. This photo was taken on March 27, 2005 in Daggett Wash northeast of Barstow, San Bernardino County, California.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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