Stickleaf
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Stickleaf or Bushy Blazingstar (Mentzelia oligosperma) a member of the Loasaceae Family, gets its name from its sticky leaves.
According to an old Botany text, "The genus Mentzelia, named in honor of Christian Mentzel (1622-1701), a European botanist, was founded on a plant collected in the West Indies, perhaps in the seventeenth century; this was the only known member of the genus for many years."
After more complete field studies in the United States, approximately seventy different native Mentzella species have been documented. All but one species are found in the Midwest and West.
Many commentators consider them weeds. The five pointed petals explains the blazingstar nick name.
© 2009 Patricia A. Michaels