Botany Photo of the Day will have brief written entries on weekends, holidays and my vacations from April through September. – Daniel
David Tarrant continues to send photographs of Mexican plants that are poorly documented online, so here's another. Thank you again, David.
The common name in Mexico for this species is pega ropa or “sticks to clothing”. Blazingstar is the name often associated with the genus Mentzelia, so another common name would be hispid blazingstar (hispida: covered in short, bristly hairs).
This late-summer flowering perennial or subshrub is native to much of Mexico as well as Guatemala. Line-drawings of the flower and fruit can be seen on page 21 of Flora Del Bajío Y De Regiones Adyacentes: Loasaceae (PDF). The National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity in Mexico also has more photographs online: Mentzelia hispida.
A different blazingstar was previously featured on BPotD: Mentzelia lindleyi.
Thanks David T.! I love the fruity colours of Mentzelia spp.--apricots & lemons--M. laevicaulis on grey gravel banks, near Hedley BC. Loasaceae is a fascinating family. I'll always remember Jim MacPhail ( UBCBG's 1st Alpine Garden curator) sending us (nursery staff) Loasaceae seed--the seedlings had stinging hairs--memorable to transplant! Pity, now in the interests of protecting us, T& M no longer sells a climbing annual Loasaceae, Caiophora ( sp. I forget), at least one of our kids never fell afoul. In fact, we have a picture of Owen at home crawling alongside the annual planting of that day. Thanks for the memories!
Gorgeous. I'll have to look up some more of these.
It's wonderful to see David Tarrant is still involved in the gardening community! I've missed him since he moved to Mexico. Does he have any projects in the works?
Shirley, I don't believe David has any ongoing projects. He does still host the occasional travel tour, though.