Phacelia cicutaria var. cicutaria

Caterpillar phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Caterpillar phacelia is a California native annual found in the central Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi, and Sierra Nevada Foothills in rocky slopes, oak and pine woodlands, and grasslands at elevations below 1,400 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces distinctive white to yellow flowers with long, stiff hairy calyx lobes. Growing with delicate, branching stems typically 10 to 40 centimeters tall, it spreads in loose, open clusters across its habitat. Its leaves are deeply dissected, with finely divided leaflets that give the plant a feathery, lacy appearance. The flowers have a soft, dirty-white to yellow coloration that blends subtly with its surrounding rocky or woodland environment.

Habitat: Rocky slopes, oak/pine woodland, grassland

Bloom period: Feb-Jun

Elevation: < 1400 m

Bioregions: SNF, c SNH, Teh.

California counties: Kern, Fresno, Mariposa, Alameda, Butte, Calaveras, Madera, Monterey, Inyo, El Dorado, Stanislaus, Tulare, Amador, Nevada, Yuba, Tehama, Tuolumne, Contra Costa, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Merced, San Diego, Sacramento

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