Mentzelia affinis
Encyclopedia
Mentzelia affinis is a species of flowering plants in the family Loasaceae
known by the common name yellowcomet. It is native to the southern half of California
, Arizona
, and adjacent sections of Nevada
and Baja California
, where it is known from scrub, woodland, desert sands, and other habitat types.
The flower has five shiny yellow petals, each with an orange spot at the base and often a toothed or notched tip. The fruit is a narrow, curving utricle 1 to 3 centimeters long. It contains many tiny prism
-shaped seeds.
Loasaceae
The Loasaceae is a family of 15-20 genera and about 200-260 species of flowering plants in the order Cornales, native to the Americas and Africa. The family comprises annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous plants, and a few shrubs and small trees.Genera...
known by the common name yellowcomet. It is native to the southern half of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and adjacent sections of Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it is known from scrub, woodland, desert sands, and other habitat types.
Description
It is an annual herb growing erect to maximum heights anywhere between 5 centimeters and half a meter. The leaves are up to 17 centimeters long in the basal rosette, divided into lobes and sometimes toothed, and smaller farther up on the plant.The flower has five shiny yellow petals, each with an orange spot at the base and often a toothed or notched tip. The fruit is a narrow, curving utricle 1 to 3 centimeters long. It contains many tiny prism
Prism (geometry)
In geometry, a prism is a polyhedron with an n-sided polygonal base, a translated copy , and n other faces joining corresponding sides of the two bases. All cross-sections parallel to the base faces are the same. Prisms are named for their base, so a prism with a pentagonal base is called a...
-shaped seeds.