Blacktack Phacelia

Phacelia pachyphylla

Phacelia pachyphylla

Color: Violet to purple

Common name: Blacktack Phacelia

Latin name: Phacelia pachyphylla

Family: BORAGINACEAE

Height: 1.5–7 inches

Phacelia pedicellata

Description: Phacelia pachyphylla is an annual herb growing erect to a maximum height around 17 centimeters. It is glandular in texture, the hairs tipped with bulbous glands. The hairy inflorescence is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of funnel- or bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is about half a centimeter long and light purple in color.

Leaf: The leaves, which are mostly arranged around the base of the stem, have crinkly or wavy-edged rounded blades on stalks a few centimeters long.

Range: Desert

Habitat: Flats, ± alkaline soils, creosote-bush scrub

Elevation: < 1000 m.

Flowering time: Apr–May

Notes: This plant was photographed Apr 1, 2005 in Red Rock Canyon State Park, Mojave Desert, Kern County, California. Phacelia pachyphylla, a dicot, is an annual herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Distribution outside California: Baja California.

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