Mentzelia dispersa

Mentzelia dispersa is a species of flowering plant in the family Loasaceae known by the common name bushy blazingstar.^[3] It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to the Dakotas, where it grows in many types of habitat.

Mentzelia dispersa
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Cornales
Family:	Loasaceae
Genus:	Mentzelia
Species:	M. dispersa
Binomial name
Mentzelia dispersa S.Watson
Synonyms[2]
List Acrolasia albicaulis var. integrifolia Acrolasia compacta Acrolasia dispersa Acrolasia integrifolia Acrolasia latifolia Acrolasia pinetorum Mentzelia albicaulis var. integrifolia Mentzelia compacta Mentzelia dispersa var. compacta Mentzelia dispersa var. latifolia Mentzelia dispersa var. obtusa Mentzelia dispersa var. pinetorum Mentzelia integrifolia Mentzelia integrifolia var. genuina Mentzelia latifolia Mentzelia pinetorum

Description

It is an annual herb producing an erect stem up to nearly half a meter in maximum height. The leaves are divided into lobes and teeth, the longest in the basal rosette approaching 10 centimeters long and those higher on the stem reduced in size.

The lightly hairy inflorescence is an open cluster of flowers each with five small, shiny yellow petals a few millimeters long. The fruit is a narrow, straight or curving utricle up to 2.5 centimeters long which contains many tiny angular seeds.