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Photo by Ava Brinkley; Ava Brinkley
Arapien stick-leaf
Mentzelia argillosa
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G1G2
State (S-rank): S1S2
External links
Species range
Greasewood, shadscale, ephedra, mountain mahogany, and pinyon- juniper communities on the gypsiferous Jurassic Arapien Shale Formation, at 1675 to 1895 m in Sanpete and Sevier cos.; a Utah Great Basin endemic; 24 (v). This gypsophilous plant is locally abundant on the hills east of Sigurd, where it grows on the tan, evaporite outcrops of the Arapien Shale (Welsh et al , 2015).
Estimate from download of data from Utah Rare Plant Database on March 9th 2021.
Geocat 299 observations: Extent of Occurrence: 242.357 km2.
Threats or limiting factors
The main threats are from habitat degradation due to grazing, energy and mineral extraction, invasive weeds, fire, urban expansion, recreation, drought, and road maintenance.
Threats compiled using observations and notes from Utah Rare Plant Database and Utah Geospatial Resource Center GIS Data downloaded in 2024. Severity of impacts are not well known so ranges are provided where appropriate.
Urban expansion is a threat with ever expanding populations in Richfield, Salina, and Gunnison, UT. All occurrences are on private land or public lands in grazing allotments. There are several oil and gas fields where plants are known to occur. Gypsum, bentonite as well as sand and gravel mining is quite prevalent (nine active commercial mining plants in the area). There seems to be a lot of roads through habitat (some are county roads. Others it is difficult to tell if these are roads or OHV impacts). Observations in Utah Rare Plant Database note OHV recreation, mountain biking, roads, invasive plant species, commercial and industrial areas, mining and quarrying, and oil and gas development as threats (URPD 2025). A small fire in 2018 between Salina and Gunnison cause by debris burning. The potential for fire is increasing in these areas due to drought, invasive species and increase in numbers of people along the wildland interface.Invasive Bromes and other weeds like tumbleweeds are a threat through direct competition and increasing fire hazard.
