Phacelia exilis

Transverse range phacelia, Transverse Range Phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Transverse range phacelia is a native annual herb found in southern Sierra Nevada, western Transverse Ranges, San Gabriel Mountains, and San Bernardino Mountains on sandy or rocky slopes and meadows at elevations of 1,100 to 2,700 meters. Flowering from May to August, this delicate plant produces lavender flowers 5 to 8 millimeters long with translucent petal areas. Growing 5 to 25 centimeters tall with decumbent to erect stems that are short-hairy and sometimes branched at the base, it has a distinctive growth pattern. Its leaves are narrowly lanceolate, 10 to 35 millimeters long, tapering to the petiole and appearing entire. The fruit is a small ovoid structure 3 to 5 millimeters long, covered in short hairs and glandular surfaces.

Habitat: Sandy or rocky slopes, flats, meadows

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 1100-2700 m

Bioregions: s SN, WTR (Lockwood Valley), SnGb, SnBr.

California counties: Kern, San Bernardino, Tulare, Ventura, Riverside

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