Phacelia vallis-mortae

Death valley phacelia

Family: Hydrophyllaceae · Type: annual · Native

Death valley phacelia is a California native annual found in western San Joaquin Valley, Southeastern Sierra Nevada, eastern Mojave Desert, and northern Sonoran Desert in sandy to rocky scrub habitats at elevations of 90 to 2,700 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces lavender to violet flowers 8 to 15 millimeters long in funnel- to bell-shaped corollas. Growing 20 to 60 centimeters tall with ascending to erect stems that are puberulent and sparsely covered with stiff reflexed hairs, it develops a branching habit. Its compound leaves range 15 to 80 millimeters long, with oblong blades featuring toothed or lobed leaflets. The fruit is a small ovoid structure 3 to 4 millimeters long, typically containing four pitted seeds.

Habitat: Sandy to rocky soils, scrub

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 90-2700 m

Bioregions: w SnJV, SNE, e DMoj, n DSon

California counties: Inyo, San Bernardino, Mono, Kern, Riverside, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, 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.