Alkali Phacelia
Phacelia neglecta
Color: White to cream
Common name: Alkali Phacelia
Latin name: Phacelia neglecta
Family: BORAGINACEAE
Height: 1–8 inches
Description: Phacelia neglecta is a mostly erect annual herb producing a small mostly unbranched stem up to about 20 centimeters tall. It is coated thinly in glandular hairs. The hairy, glandular inflorescence is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of funnel- or bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is about half a centimeter long and white to cream in color.
Leaf: The leaves, which are mostly arranged around the base of the stem, have crinkly or wavy-edged round blades on stalks a few centimeters long.
Range: Desert
Habitat: Clay or alkaline soils, flats, slopes
Elevation: <1000 m.
Flowering time: Mar–May
Notes: Phacelia neglecta is a dicot that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Like other Phacelia, this plant causes a poison ivy-like dermatitis. Distribution outside California: s Nevada, Arizona. This photo was made Mar 25, 2005, on Kelbaker Road, south of I-40 (San Bernardino County, California.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
Related DesertUSA Pages
- How to Turn Your Smartphone into a Survival Tool
- 26 Tips for Surviving in the Desert
- Death by GPS
- 7 Smartphone Apps to Improve Your Camping Experience
- Maps Parks and More
- Desert Survival Skills
- How to Keep Ice Cold in the Desert
- Desert Rocks, Minerals & Geology Index
- Preparing an Emergency Survival Kit
- Get the Best Hotel and Motel Rates
Share this page on Facebook:
DesertUSA Newsletter -- We send articles on hiking, camping and places to explore, as well as animals, wildflower reports, plant information and much more. Sign up below or read more about the DesertUSA newsletter here. (It's Free.)
The Desert Environment
The North American Deserts
Desert Geological Terms
