Fremont's Phacelia
Phacelia fremontii
Color: Blue to violet
Common name: Fremont's phacelia
Latin name: Phacelia fremontii
Family: BORAGINACEAE
Height: 2.5-12 inches
Description: Phacelia fremontii is an annual plant with a funnel- to bell-shaped tube and flowers that are blue to lavender with a yellow throat, 7-15 mm long (rarely to 20 mm). The decumbent to erect stem is branched at base, minutely hairy and generally glandular.
Leaf: The deeply lobed or compound leaves are 1.5-5 cm long and are oblong to oblanceolate (having a broad rounded apex and a tapering base.)
Range: Mojave Desert, s Sierra Nevada, San Joaquin Valley, e San Francisco Bay Area, Inner South Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, East of Sierra Nevada
Habitat: Sandy or gravelly soils, scrub, grassland
Elevation: < 2300 m.
Flowering time: Mar–Jun
Notes: Phacelia fremontii, is a dicot that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. It was named for explorer John C. Fremont. These photographs were made March 24, 2004 in the Cuddeback Lake area, San Bernardino County, California and Feb. 26, 2005, in Short Canyon, Kern County, California.
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