Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

SAND LILY

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Mentzelia nuda (Pursh ) T. & G.

Russell County, Kansas

Biennial or perennial

Height: 1-5 feet

Family: Loasaceae - Stickleaf Family

Flowering Period: July, August, September

Also Called:

Bractless mentzelia, upright mentzelia.

Stems:

Erect, 1 to few, usually branched above, whitish to yellowish, pubescent above.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, short-stalked below, sessile above, oblanceolate, 1.5 to 4 inches long, about 3/4 inch wide, rough; margins coarsely toothed; tips pointed or blunt; upper leaves somewhat reduced.

Inflorescences:

Cyme-like, 1 or few-flowered, near branch tips; bracts toothed or narrow-lobed, not fused to ovary.

Flowers:

Showy, 1.5 to 3.5 inches in diameter; sepals 5, lanceolate, .5 to 1 inch long, pointed; petals 10, white or pale cream, narrowly oblanceolate to spatulate, 1 to 1.5 inches long, less than .5 inch wide, not overlapping at flowering; stamens numerous, almost as long as petals.

Fruits:

Capsules, cylindric, .5 to 1.5 inches long, less than .5 inch wide, dried sepals at the top; seeds many, flattened, broad-winged.

Habitat:

Prairie hillsides, pastures, roadsides, and waste areas, in sandy soils.

Distribution:

West 3/5 of Kansas.

Comments:

The flowers open late in the afternoon and close in the evening. Sometimes they open on overcast days. Sand lily has a strong, deep taproot. It is sometimes called "stickleaf" due to the barbed hairs that cause the leaves to cling to clothing or hair.

Resembles Ten petal mentzelia

Sand lily