Many species of _mentzelia_, all herbs, occur in the West. Barbed hairs
cover leaves and stems, causing the plant to cling to what it touches,
hence a common name “stick-leaf.” Flowers grow at ends of branches, and
some species open fully only in sunlight. A close relative, _Mentzelia
involucrata_, “sand blazing-star,” is an annual, 4 to 16 inches high,
blooming February through April, found in sandy washes below 3,000 feet
in southwestern Arizona, southeastern California, and northern Sonora.
_Pumila_ grows in dry stream beds and on roadsides from 100 to 8,000
feet elevation, flowering February to October. It ranges from Wyoming
and Utah to southeastern California and Northern Mexico.
_Mentzelia pumila_ Loasa Family
[Illustration: YELLOW MENTZELIA]