Looking for help on another flower.

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by lkliewer, May 28, 2004.

  1. lkliewer

    lkliewer Active Member 10 Years

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    Took this picture several weeks ago at Bear Creek Park near Kelowna. I only saw the plant in one location -- sunny slope under pine trees in fairly dry conditions. The flowers are quite small -- about 1/2 inch or smaller. Any ideas?

    I have included two pictures -- one is a zoomed in picture of the blossoms and the other shows the leaves and stems.
     

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  2. lkliewer

    lkliewer Active Member 10 Years

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    New Photos

    I managed to get back to the same location and take some more photos of the plant. In bright sunlight it is really hard to see if the picture is in focus in macro mode so you will have to forgive the picture of the leaf -- I think the general shape is obvious though. The plant had grown significantly in the month since the first visit. Two more photos. I have done a lot of hiking over the last while and this is the only plant of this kind I have found.
     

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  3. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    I might be going the wrong direction with this question, but how close is the location of this plant to a residential area?
     
  4. lkliewer

    lkliewer Active Member 10 Years

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    How close to residential areas

    The picture was taken about 1 km from the highway in a provincial park. There is a campground on the other side of the highway and several houses within 2km. Not too close to people but you never know if someone had a seed on their shoes .... Here is a map of the park and where the picture was taken.
     

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  5. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Yes, I was going in the wrong direction with my previous post, after figuring out what plant it is:

    It's a Mentzelia, and likely Mentzelia albicaulis (as opposed to Mentzelia dispersa) based on leaf shape (to be absolutely certain, the authors of the Illustrated Flora of BC recommend examining the seeds).

    The common name for this plant is whitestem blazingstar (in California) or white-stemmed eveningstar (in BC) and is listed as being locally frequent in south central British Columbia.
     
  6. lkliewer

    lkliewer Active Member 10 Years

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    Thank-you Daniel!

    After finding some pictures on the internet (Calphotos) I would have to agree with the "Mentzelia albicaulis" identification. The leaves match this plant more closely. I hope to get back to the park in a month or two and will make a point of getting a look at the seeds. Thanks again.
     

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