Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

STICKLEAF

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Mentzelia oligosperma Nutt. ex Sims

Mitchell County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 8-36 inches

Family: Loasaceae - Stickleaf Family

Flowering Period: June, July, August, September

Stems:

Ascending to erect, 1 to several, much-branched, whitish, rough, brittle.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, sessile, ovate to rhombic, .5 to 2.5 inches long, 1/4 to 1 inch wide, rough-hairy; margins coarsely toothed to basally lobed; tips blunt or pointed.

Inflorescences:

1- to few-flowered, in leaf axils near branch tips.

Flowers:

1/2 to 3/4 inch wide; sepals 5, lanceolate, tapering to very slender points; petals 5, yellow to orange; tips pointed; stamens 15-40, about as long as petals.

Fruits:

Capsules, cylindric to club-shaped, to 1/2 inch long, slightly curved; seeds 1-4, oblong, not sharply angular.

Habitat:

Dry rocky sites, particularly limestone and gypsum hillsides, ledges and bluffs.

Distribution:

Throughout, but more frequently in east of Kansas.

Comments:

Hooked hairs on the leaves allow them to cling tightly to clothing or fur. Entwined in sheep's wool, the leaves can lower the wool's market value.

Stickleaf