Hackelia velutina

Velvety stickseed, Velvety Stickseed

Family: Boraginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Velvety stickseed is a California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains on dry, open slopes, forest clearings, and roadsides at elevations of 1,350 to 2,750 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces blue to purple flowers with white recurved appendages in delicate clusters. Growing with stems 40 to 80 centimeters tall and covered in spreading hairs that are denser toward the lower portion, it develops a distinctive velvety appearance. Its basal leaves are narrow and elliptic, measuring 5 to 17 centimeters long and 0.5 to 2 centimeters wide, with lower stem leaves becoming progressively smaller and more lance-shaped. The fruit consists of rough nutlets with evenly distributed prickles, giving the plant its characteristic sticky texture.

Habitat: Dry, open slopes, forest clearings, roadsides

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1350-2750 m

Bioregions: SNH

California counties: El Dorado, Tuolumne, Fresno, Nevada, Tulare, Placer, Madera, Calaveras, Amador, Mariposa, Lassen, Kern, Alpine, Mono

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.