Veatch's stickleaf on dry slopes of Mt. Peavine, Nevada

Veatch's stickleaf (Mentzelia veatchiana) is a flowering plant native to California (including Baja California), Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. The displayed plant was seen on a southeast-facing slope of Mt. Peavine near Reno.

Typical plants show an erect growth. Flowers have satiny yellow petals that are deep orange at the base: orange “eye” on corolla [1]. The picture below shows a stickleaf's leaf, which is deeply cleft into narrow lobes containing white hairs.

Veatch's stickleaf belongs to the Loasa family (Loasaceae). This species is also known by the common name Veatch's blazingstar [2]. Less common are names such as whitestem stickleaf or whitestem blazingstar [3].

Variant terminology: Veatch's stick-leaf, Veatch's stick leaf, Veatch's blazing star

Keywords: botany, wildflower, Reno/Tahoe, Great Basin, southwestern United States.

References and more to explore 
[1] Laird R. Blackwell: Tahoe Wildflowers • A Month-by-Month Guide to Wildflowers in the Tahoe Basin and Surrounding Areas. A Falcon Guide, Morris Book Publishing, LLC, 2007; page 27.
[2] Calflora Taxon Report 5447: Mentzelia veatchiana Kellogg: www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Mentzelia+veatchiana.
[3] Global Species: Mentzelia veatchiana (Veatch's blazingstar; whitestem blazingstar; whitestem stickleaf) [http://www.globalspecies.org/ntaxa/867892].