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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE LOASA FAMILY | |||||||||
| The loasa family has only two representatives in Saskatchewan. In this family, growth habits range from annual herbs to shrubs. The leaves are alternate or opposite and are variable in size and shape. The flowers are regular with four to seven sepals and petals. There are five to many stamens, which mature from the outside of the flower inwards. The fruit is a capsule or an achene. These plants are usually very harshly hairy. | |||||||||
| WHITE-STEM BLAZING-STAR | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Mentzelia albicaulis | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| White-stem blazing star grows to 40 cm tall from a taproot. The stem is often branching from the base. The stem is white and hairless below, though it may be rough hairy above. The basal and stem leaves are variable, even on the same plant. The flowers are solitary or in small clusters. The petals are yellow. There are usually between 15 and 35 fertile stamens; no sterile stamens are present. The fruit is a capsule. Inside the capsule, the angular, winged seeds hang down. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| White-stem blazing-star is found on dry, steep, south-facing slopes. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Mixed Grassland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| White-stem blazing-star is endangered because it is extremely rare in Saskatchewan. This species is limited to one very small area and is almost always locally sparse. No immediate threats are known for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY WHITE-STEM BLAZING-STAR | |||||||||
| * Are the flowers yellow? * Are there many stamens? * Is the stem white? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found white-stem blazing-star! | |||||||||
