• Source: Mentzelia pumila

Mentzelia pumila, (dwarf mentzelia, desert blazing star, blazing star, bullet stickleaf, golden blazing star, yellow mentzelia, evening star, moonflower, Wyoming stickleaf, etc.) is a biennial wildflower found in the western United States and northwestern Mexico from Montana and North Dakota, south to Sonora and Chihuahua. It is a blazingstar and a member of the genus Mentzelia, the stickleafs; member species are also called "evening stars", but some stickleafs close at sunset, as does M. pumila.
Leaves of Mentzelia pumila are long, very narrow, and serrated-pinnate-like; also medium to light grayish green; an individual plant in an opportune site can be 1.5–2.5 feet (1 m) in height. The flowers are a bright, glossy medium yellow, and the major petals are variable, sometimes 5 major, 5 minor; also 4 and 4.
Mentzelia pumila is covered in minute elaborations known as trichomes, which pierce and trap insects that land on it. A species of aphid, Macrosyphum mentzeliae colonises the plant and is afforded protection, since its main predator, the ladybird beetle, is unable to avoid the trichomes.




Uses


The root is a laxative. The Zuni people insert this plant into the rectum as a suppository for constipation. The plant is also used to whip children to make them strong so they could hold on to a horse without falling.




Footnotes






References


USDA: NRCS: Plants Profile Mentzelia pumila
Mentzelia pumila synopsis at LBJ Wildflower Center




External links


Photo-Medium Res--(NOTE: 5-1/2 major petals, 5 minor-(a VARIATION)); Article – www.saguaro-juniper.com – "Wildflowers on Saguaro-Juniper Lands"
Photo-High Res--(Field Photo); Photo-(Flower-(and Seed pod)--Very High Res); Article – www.naturesongs.com – "Verde Valley-(Arizona) Plants"

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Mentzelia pumila
• Mentzelia
• Moonflower
• Evening Star
• Zuni ethnobotany
• List of Violales of Montana
• Blazing star (disambiguation)
• List of flora of the Sonoran Desert Region by common name
• List of garden plants in North America
• List of plants on the Modoc National Forest