Home/Species/ Polished Blazingstar

Mentzelia polita

A. Nels.

Polished Blazingstar

G2Imperiled (G2G3) Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →

G2ImperiledGlobal Rank

High - mediumThreat Impact

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1240037

Element CodePDLOA03310

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderViolales

FamilyLoasaceae

GenusMentzelia

Concept Reference

Holmgren., N. H. and P. K. Holmgren. 2002. New Mentzelias (Loasaceae) from the Intermountain region of western United States. Systematic Botany 27(4): 747-762.

Taxonomic Comments

This record is for the treatment of Mentzelia polita in a narrow sense, excluding M. memorabilis. Some Arizona plants referred to M. polita by Christy (1998 Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 30: 96-111) were distinguished as a distinct species and named M. memorabalis by Holmgren and Holmgren (2002). The spelling was later changed to M. memorabilis, as published in FNA (2016, vol. 12).

Conservation Status

Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2

Review Date2022-08-08

Change Date2022-08-09

Edition Date2022-08-08

Edition AuthorsNordman, C. (2022).

Threat ImpactHigh - medium

Range Extent1000-20,000 square km (about 400-8000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences6 - 80

Rank Reasons

Mentzelia polita has a small range, less than 10,000 square kilometers in the Spring Mountains in southern Nevada and Clark Mountains in adjacent California. There are about 20 locations known, numbers of plants and trends are unknown, and threats are poorly known but are estimated to be High to Medium.

Range Extent Comments

Mentzelia polita occurs in the southwestern United States,mainly on the slopes of the Clark Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, and around the base of the Spring Mountains in Clark County, Nevada. The range extent is estimated to be 9,300 square kilometers, including a disjunct occurrence near Towne Pass (NE of Death Valley). Mentzelia polita has been reported from Utah and Arizona, but those plants are now called Mentzelia memorabilis which was first described in 2002 (Christy 1998, Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2016, Holmgren and Holmgren 2002, Jepson Flora Project 2022, NatureServe 2022, SEINet 2022).

Occurrences Comments

There are about 20 occurrences of Mentzelia polita (NatureServe 2022, SEINet 2022).

Threat Impact Comments

Threats to Mentzelia polita are not well know, but likely include threats to Mojave Desert and Great Basin ecosystems, such as development (including tourism and recreation infrastructure), mining or quarrying, off road vehicle impacts, and extreme drought such as may be exacerbated by climate change.

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Mentzelia polita occurs in open areas in mixed desert shrub communities, in dry washes, arroyos, and steep slopes, on clayey or gravelly limestone or less commonly gypsum soils, at 450-1370 m elevation in Nevada; 1200-1500 m elevation in California (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2016, Holmgren and Holmgren 2002, Jepson Flora Project 2022, NatureServe 2022).

Terrestrial Habitats

Shrubland/chaparralDesertBare rock/talus/scree

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN2

Province	Rank	Native
California	S2	Yes
Nevada	S2	Yes

Threat Assessments

Threat	Scope	Severity	Timing
1 - Residential & commercial development	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
1.3 - Tourism & recreation areas	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
3 - Energy production & mining	Small (1-10%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	High (continuing)
3.2 - Mining & quarrying	Small (1-10%)	Serious or 31-70% pop. decline	High (continuing)
6 - Human intrusions & disturbance	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
6.1 - Recreational activities	Restricted (11-30%)	Moderate or 11-30% pop. decline	High (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weather	Pervasive (71-100%)	Moderate - slight	High (continuing)
11.2 - Droughts	Pervasive (71-100%)	Moderate - slight	High (continuing)

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (1)

Nevada (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Lovell Summit South	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	28,455

References (6)

Christy, C.M. 1998. Loasaceae, stickleaf or blazing-star family. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science 30: 96–111. Online. Available: https://canotia.org/vpa_volumes/VPA_JANAS_1998_Vol30_2_Christy_Loasaceae.pdf (Accessed 2022).
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2016. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 12. Magnoliophyta: Vitaceae to Garryaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 603 pp.
Holmgren., N. H. and P. K. Holmgren. 2002. New Mentzelias (Loasaceae) from the Intermountain region of western United States. Systematic Botany 27(4): 747-762.
Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2022. Jepson eFlora. Online. Available: https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/ (accessed 2022).
NatureServe. 2022. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2022. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2022).

Mentzelia polita

Habitat

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