Phacelia ciliata var. opaca
Merced phacelia
(c) Steve Matson, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Steve Matson · licence
Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: Herb
Conservation status: CNPS 3.2
Phacelia ciliata var. opaca (Merced phacelia) is a California herb in the Hydrophyllaceae family.
I apologize, but I cannot generate a full description because the provided plant data appears to be incomplete. Several critical fields are blank, including: - Native Status - Bioregional Distributions - Elevation Range - Habitat - Flowering Time - Jepson Description Without these key pieces of information, I cannot construct an accurate description following the established guidelines. To generate a complete description, I would need the missing data fields populated with specific information about the Merced phacelia. Could you provide the missing details for this plant? With complete data, I can apply the description generation rules precisely and create a description matching the high-quality examples provided.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Differentiators are not available at this time.
Conservation status
CNPS 3.2
How to tell it apart
vs Nemophila: Phacelia has flowers in coiled scorpion-tail clusters; Nemophila has solitary showy flowers at leaf axils.; vs Eucrypta: Phacelia is typically non-sticky with seeds that fall out cleanly; Eucrypta feels very sticky and retains 1-2 seeds in fruit.; vs Pholistoma: Phacelia has coiled flower clusters; Pholistoma has flowers scattered along stems with backward-pointing stem bristles.; vs Echium: Phacelia has coiled clusters of small flowers; Echium has large showy blue-purple flowers in tall spike-like clusters.; vs Gilia: Phacelia has coiled flower clusters and bristly foliage; Gilia has flowers in round heads or loose clusters with smoother foliage.
Frequently asked questions
What plant family does Phacelia ciliata var. opaca belong to?
Phacelia ciliata var. opaca is in the Hydrophyllaceae family, genus Phacelia.
Is Phacelia ciliata var. opaca rare or endangered?
Phacelia ciliata var. opaca carries California Rare Plant Rank 3.2, state rank SH.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: CDFW CNDDB
Last updated 2026-10-08
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.