This cache is part of the Smoky Valley Scenic Byway Wildflower Series.
Caches will be named after a Kansas Wildflower with information. Try to find them all!
For more information visit www.kswildflower.org
Suggested equipment: a log roller and a step stool.
| Height: 1-5 feet |
| Family: Loasaceae - Stickleaf Family |
| Flowering Period: July, August, September |
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| Also Called: |
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Bractless mentzelia, upright mentzelia. |
| Stems: |
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Erect, 1 to few, usually branched above, whitish to yellowish, pubescent above. |
| Leaves: |
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Alternate, simple, short-stalked below, sessile above, oblanceolate, 1.5 to 4 inches long, about 3/4 inch wide, rough; margins coarsely toothed; tips pointed or blunt; upper leaves somewhat reduced. |
| Inflorescences: |
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Cyme-like, 1 or few-flowered, near branch tips; bracts toothed or narrow-lobed, not fused to ovary. |
| Flowers: |
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Showy, 1.5 to 3.5 inches in diameter; sepals 5, lanceolate, .5 to 1 inch long, pointed; petals 10, white or pale cream, narrowly oblanceolate to spatulate, 1 to 1.5 inches long, less than .5 inch wide, not overlapping at flowering; stamens numerous, almost as long as petals. |
| Fruits: |
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Capsules, cylindric, .5 to 1.5 inches long, less than .5 inch wide, dried sepals at the top; seeds many, flattened, broad-winged. |
| Habitat: |
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Prairie hillsides, pastures, roadsides, and waste areas, in sandy soils. |
| Distribution: |
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West 3/5 of Kansas. |
| Comments: |
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The flowers open late in the afternoon and close in the evening. Sometimes they open on overcast days. Sand lily has a strong, deep taproot. It is sometimes called "stickleaf" due to the barbed hairs that cause the leaves to cling to clothing or hair. |
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Resembles Ten petal mentzelia |