View source for Mentzelia affinis

{{Treatment/ID
|accepted_name=Mentzelia affinis
|accepted_authority=Greene
|publications={{Treatment/Publication
|title=Pittonia
|place=2: 103. 1890
|year=1890
}}
|common_names=Yellowcomet
|basionyms=
|synonyms=
|hierarchy=Loasaceae;Mentzelia;Mentzelia sect. Trachyphytum;Mentzelia affinis
|hierarchy_nav=<div class="higher-taxa"><div class="higher-taxon"><small>family</small>[[Loasaceae]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>genus</small>[[Mentzelia]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>section</small>[[Mentzelia sect. Trachyphytum]]</div><div class="higher-taxon"><small>species</small>[[Mentzelia affinis]]</div></div>
|volume=Volume 12
|mention_page=page 531, 532, 537
|treatment_page=page 534
}}<!--

--><span class="statement" id="st-undefined" data-properties=""><b>Plants </b>candelabra-form, 5–40(–50) cm. <b>Basal</b> leaves persisting; petiole present or absent; blade linear-lanceolate to linear, margins usually deeply to moderately lobed, sinuses extending 1/4+ to midvein, rarely entire. <b>Cauline</b> leaves: petiole absent; blade ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, to 17 cm, margins usually dentate or entire, rarely deeply lobed. <b>Bracts</b> green, ovate to lanceolate, 2.7–6.6 × 0.9–2.1 mm, width 1/5–1/3 length, not concealing capsule, margins 3-lobed or entire. <b>Flowers</b>: sepals 1–7 mm; petals yellow to orange proximally, yellow distally, 4–12 mm, apex acute; stamens 20+, 3–6.5 mm, filaments monomorphic, filiform, unlobed; styles 3–6.5 mm. <b>Capsules</b> narrowly cylindric, 7–32 × 1–3 mm, axillary curved to 90° at maturity, often prominently longitudinally ribbed. <b>Seeds</b> 10–20, in 1 row distal to mid fruit, tan, dark-mottled or not, triangular prisms, surface ±smooth under 10× magnification; recurved flap over hilum absent; seed coat cell outer periclinal wall flat. <b>2n</b> = 18.</span><!--

-->{{Treatment/Body
|phenology=Flowering Mar–May.
|habitat=Sandy, rocky, or gray-white silty soils, grasslands, creosote-bush scrub, Joshua-tree or saguaro woodlands.
|elevation=0–1200 m.
|distribution=Ariz.;Calif.;Mexico (Sonora).
|discussion=<p>Herbarium specimens of <i>Mentzelia affinis</i> are often difficult to distinguish from those of <i>M. dispersa</i> despite distinct evolutionary histories (J. M. Brokaw and L. Hufford 2010). Several characters, including flower size, leaf margins, and capsule surfaces, differ substantially between these species, but habitat is the most dependable diagnostic character. Verified populations of <i>M. affinis</i> have not been found above 1200 meters in desert habitats, and grassland populations are usually restricted to much lower elevations. Sympatric populations of <i>M. affinis</i> and <i>M. dispersa</i> have not been found, and, in areas of range overlap in southern California, <i>M. dispersa</i> has not been found below 1200 meters or in desert vegetation.</p>
|tables=
|references=
}}<!--

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-->{{#Taxon:
name=Mentzelia affinis
|author=
|authority=Greene
|rank=species
|parent rank=section
|synonyms=
|basionyms=
|family=Loasaceae
|phenology=Flowering Mar–May.
|habitat=Sandy, rocky, or gray-white silty soils, grasslands, creosote-bush scrub, Joshua-tree or saguaro woodlands.
|elevation=0–1200 m.
|distribution=Ariz.;Calif.;Mexico (Sonora).
|reference=None
|publication title=Pittonia
|publication year=1890
|special status=
|source xml=https://jpend@bitbucket.org/aafc-mbb/fna-data-curation.git/src/f6b125a955440c0872999024f038d74684f65921/coarse_grained_fna_xml/V12/V12_439.xml
|genus=Mentzelia
|section=Mentzelia sect. Trachyphytum
|species=Mentzelia affinis
}}<!--

-->[[Category:Treatment]][[Category:Mentzelia sect. Trachyphytum]]