Mentzelia pterosperma

Wing-seed blazing star

Family: Loasaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.2

Wing-seed blazing star is a rare (CNPS 2B.2) California native annual found in the eastern central Mojave Desert in white gypsum-rich soils at elevations of 1,000 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces bright yellow flowers with acute to long-tapered petals 6.5 to 17 millimeters long. Growing with erect, hairy stems 6 to 42 centimeters tall, it has a distinctive appearance with variable leaf shapes. Its leaves range from elliptic to oblanceolate, with proximal leaves entire to short-toothed and distal leaves often toothed or lobed near the base. The fruit is an erect, cup-shaped to cylindric structure with distinctive pale gray seeds featuring white wings.

Habitat: +- white gypsum-rich soils

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 1000-1200 m

Bioregions: e-c DMoj

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