Phacelia gymnoclada

Naked-stemmed phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Naked-stemmed phacelia is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native annual found in northern Mono County's eastern Sierra Nevada region in clay to gravelly scrub habitats at elevations of 1,800 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces lavender, purple, pink, or blue flowers in delicate funnel-shaped blooms 5 to 11 millimeters long with yellow flower tube bases. Growing with spreading to ascending stems 5 to 20 centimeters tall that branch at the base and are covered in short hairs, it appears aromatic and delicate. Its leaves are 10 to 40 millimeters long, oblanceolate to ovate, with wavy or obtusely lobed edges that are more prominent near the plant's base. The fruit contains 5 to 8 small ovoid seeds, each 1 to 1.5 millimeters long with 7 to 9 cross-furrows.

Habitat: Clay to gravelly soils, generally in scrub

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 1800-2300 m

Bioregions: n SNE (Mono Co.)

California counties: Inyo, Mono, Lassen, San Benito

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