Mentzelia laevicaulis var. laevicaulis

Family: Loasaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Mentzelia laevicaulis is a California native perennial found in sandy to rocky slopes, washes, and roadcuts at elevations below 2,900 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces striking golden yellow flowers with white to pale yellow outer petals, 40 to 80 millimeters long with deeply acute tips. Growing with erect stems 22 to 100 centimeters tall, it can be glabrous or hairy depending on the individual plant. Its lower leaves are large and oblanceolate with pinnate lobes up to 24 centimeters long, while upper leaves are smaller, lanceolate, and often dentate or serrate. The fruit is an erect cylindrical capsule 15 to 44 millimeters long, containing pale gray to light brown seeds with distinctive white or light brown wings.

Habitat: Sandy to rocky slopes, washes, roadcuts

Bloom period: May-Oct

Elevation: < 2900 m

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.