Phacelia humilis var. humilis

Low phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Low phacelia is a California native annual herb found on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and in the Great Basin in meadows and flats at elevations of 1,500 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from May to July, this delicate plant produces small white to lavender flowers with stamens slightly extending beyond the petals. Growing with slender stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it forms compact clusters in open grassland areas. Its leaves are divided into narrow, elongated segments, creating a lacy, feathery appearance typical of phacelia species. The fruit is small, approximately 2 to 3.5 millimeters long, with seeds nestled within delicate, finely textured calyces.

Habitat: Flats, meadows

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1500-2800 m

Bioregions: SNH (e slope), GB

California counties: Sierra, Tulare, Plumas, Yuba, Placer, Alpine, Mono, Lassen, Modoc, Mariposa, Trinity, Shasta, El Dorado, Santa Barbara, Siskiyou, Inyo, San Francisco, Nevada, Solano, Kern

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