''Mentzelia densa'' is a species of flowering plant in the
Loasaceae
Loasaceae is a family of 15–20 genera and about 200–260 species of flowering plants in the order Cornales, native to the Americas and Africa. Members of the family include annual, biennial and perennial herbaceous plants, and a few shrubs an ...
known by the common names Royal Gorge blazingstar and Royal Gorge stickleaf. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
in the United States, where it occurs in the
Arkansas River Valley
The Arkansas River Valley (usually shortened to River Valley) is a region in Arkansas defined by the Arkansas River in the western part of the state. Generally defined as the area between the The Ozarks, Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, the River V ...
in Fremont and Chaffee Counties.''Mentzelia densa''. The Nature Conservancy.
This plant is a biennial herb or perennial subshrub generally growing no more than 30 centimeters tall. Its hairy white stems curve upward, forming a ball shape. It can form
tumbleweed
A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumble ...
s. The narrow leaves are hairy. The flowers have pointed bright yellow petals and are about 2 centimeters wide. They open in the afternoon. The toothed fruit is up to 2 centimeters long by 1 centimeter wide. The fruit can cling to animals' fur.''Mentzelia densa''. Center for Plant Conservation.
This plant grows in pinyon-juniper woodland and open shrubland. It may be a dominant plant at disturbed sites, such as washes. The soil is rocky, gravelly, or sandy. Associated plants include ''
Pinus edulis
''Pinus edulis'', the Colorado pinyon, two-needle piñon, pinyon pine, or simply piñon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group whose ancestor was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Geoflora (a group of drought resistant trees) and is native to the Uni ...
'', ''
Juniperus monosperma
''Juniperus monosperma'' is a species of juniper native to western North America, in the United States in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado, western Oklahoma ( Panhandle), and western Texas, and in Mexico in the extreme north of Chihuahua. ...
'', ''
Juniperus scopulorum
''Juniperus scopulorum'', the Rocky Mountain juniper, is a species of juniper native to western North America, from southwest Canada to the Great Plains of the United States.
Description
''Juniperus scopulorum'' is a small evergreen conifer ...
'', ''
Symphoricarpos oreophilus
''Symphoricarpos oreophilus'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the Caprifoliaceae, or honeysuckle family, known by the common name mountain snowberry. It has a wide distribution in western Canada, the United States, and northwes ...
'', ''
Cercocarpus montanus
''Cercocarpus montanus'' is a North American species of shrub or small tree in the family Rosaceae native to northern Mexico and the western United States. It is known by the common names alder-leaf mountain-mahogany, alder-leaf cercocarpus, and ...
'', ''
Artemisia tridentata
''Artemisia tridentata'', commonly called big sagebrush,MacKay, Pam (2013), ''Mojave Desert Wildflowers'', 2nd ed., , p. 264. Great Basin sagebrush or (locally) simply sagebrush, is an aromatic shrub from the family Asteraceae, which grows in ari ...
Oryzopsis hymenoides
''Eriocoma hymenoides'' (common names: Indian ricegrass and sand rice grass) is a cool-season, perennial bunchgrass with narrow, rolled leaf blades.Mojave Desert Wildflowers, Pam MacKay, 2nd Ed., p287 It is native to western North America east of ...
Bouteloua gracilis
''Bouteloua gracilis'', the blue grama, is a long-lived, warm-season (C4 carbon fixation, C4) Perennial plant, perennial grass, native to North America.
It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky ...
'', ''
Rhus trilobata
''Rhus trilobata'' is a shrub in the sumac genus ('' Rhus'') with the common names skunkbush sumac, sourberry, skunkbush, and three-leaf sumac. It is native to the western half of Canada and the Western United States, from the Great Plains to ...
'', ''
Heterotheca villosa
''Heterotheca villosa'', called the hairy goldenaster, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae found in central and western North America.
Description
The plant grows to in height and the leaves are in average length. Bloom ...
'', ''
Cylindropuntia imbricata
''Cylindropuntia imbricata'', the cane cholla (walking stick cholla, tree cholla, or chainlink cactus), is a cactus found in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico, including some cooler regions in comparison to many other cacti. It ...
'', and ''
Opuntia phaeacantha
''Opuntia phaeacantha'' is a species of prickly pear cactus known by the common names tulip prickly pear, Mojave prickly pear, and desert prickly pear found across the southwestern United States, lower Great Plains, and northern Mexico. The plan ...
''.
There are about 15 occurrences of this plant, but some have not been seen recently. The plant is threatened by recreational activities in the Arkansas River Valley.