Nemophila menziesii var. menziesii

Baby blue eyes

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Baby blue eyes is a native annual found in California Floristic Province and Mojave Desert bioregions in meadows, grasslands, chaparral, woodlands, and desert washes at elevations of 15 to 1,600 meters. Flowering from February to May, this delicate plant produces bright blue flowers with white centers, typically 10 to 40 millimeters wide, often featuring distinctive black dots at the center. Growing with slender stems up to 30 centimeters tall, it spreads in low, sprawling clusters across open landscapes. Its lower leaves are intricately divided into 6 to 13 lobes, with upper leaves having fewer, more narrow tooth-like segments. The small, intricate flowers and finely divided leaves make this a charming and delicate wildflower of California's diverse landscapes.

Habitat: Meadows, grassland, chaparral, woodland, slopes, desert washes

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: 15-1600 m

Bioregions: CA-FP, DMoj.

California counties: Los Angeles, Amador, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, Monterey, Madera, Tulare, Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Lake, Santa Clara, San Benito, Napa, Santa Barbara, San Mateo, Marin, Placer, Humboldt, Glenn, San Francisco, Sonoma, Alameda, Sacramento, Butte, Tuolumne, Fresno, Mendocino, Tehama, San Joaquin, Trinity, Calaveras, Mariposa, Contra Costa, Solano, El Dorado, Nevada, Merced, Yuba, Colusa, Ventura, Imperial, Yolo, Orange

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