Phacelia inundata

Playa phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Playa phacelia is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native annual found in the Modoc Plateau in alkaline flats and dry lake margins at elevations of 1,300 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces yellow flowers 3 to 5 millimeters long with a narrowly bell-shaped corolla. Growing 10 to 40 centimeters tall with spreading to erect stems that are branched at the base and covered in short, stiff hairs, it has a distinctive glandular appearance. Its leaves are 10 to 30 millimeters long, with proximal leaves crowded and deeply lobed, featuring oblong to narrowly ovate blades with rounded segments. The fruit is oblong, 4 to 7 millimeters long and slightly fuzzy, containing 5 to 30 small cross-striate seeds.

Habitat: Alkaline flats, dry lake margins

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 1300-2000 m

Bioregions: MP

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