Yellow Comet
Blazing Star
Mentzelia affinis
This Yellowcomet Blazing Star was found in bloom along a sandy wash at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona, USA on 21 March 2010.
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ANNUAL: Spring annual appearing in years with above average rainfall.
Generally low growing and less than ½
meter tall.
FLOWERS: Of the various blazing star species found in the Sonoran
Desert, this one has the smallest flowers; the petals are usually less than
10 mm long. The bright yellow flowers bloom mostly in mid
spring.
LEAVES: Green leaves are variously toothed; generally the lower leaves
are larger and with deeper indentations along the margins.
RANGE: Sonoran Desert, usually growing on creosote or grassland flats or
adjacent to washes. Also found in portions of the Mojave Desert in California
and Nevada.
FRUIT: The seed pods develop below the flower and are straight and
slender. If you have a magnifier the seeds are fascinating to look at: they are
shaped like tiny prisms and the angles have distinct grooves along their
length.
UNARMED: No spines or thorns.