Phacelia coerulea

Sky-blue phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Sky-blue phacelia is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native annual found in eastern Mojave Desert regions in open, sandy to rocky creosote-bush scrub areas at elevations of 1,400 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces pale blue to pale purple flowers in small bell-shaped clusters approximately 3 to 5 millimeters long. Growing 12 to 40 centimeters tall with ascending to erect stems that are puberulent and sometimes branched at the base, it has an aromatic character. Its leaves are 15 to 70 millimeters long, generally oblong to oblanceolate, with lobes toward the base and crenate edges. The fruit is spherical, 2.5 to 3.5 millimeters long, containing generally 4 seeds with a distinctive corrugated margin.

Habitat: Open, sandy to rocky areas, generally in creosote-bush scrub

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 1400-2000 m

Bioregions: e DMoj

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Imperial

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