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 Leaves Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Desert Botanical Garden Herbarium, Usage Rights: CC BY-NC (Attribution-Non-Commercial) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Annual Similar Species: Phacelia denticulata, P. heterophylla
General Desc:
Hairy plant with upright to curved stems that are single or branched. Green leaves have narrow lobes and appear feather-like. Small bell-shaped flowers are crowded along 1 side of the blooming stalk causing the tip to curl over like a scorpion's tail.
Identification notes: Hairy and glandular throughout; stems usually stout, erect or curved upwards; leaves pinnately divided with narrow lobes; flowers white to pale bluish, in coiled elongated clusters, stamens and styles protrude; seeds excavated on one side, not ridged.
Height:
To about 2-1/3 feet
Habitat Description: Sandy, gravelly, loamy (sand, silt and clay mixture) soils, open brush and woodlands, meadows, roadsides, riparian areas; sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, ponderosa pine-Douglas fir and spruce-fir forests.
Plant Communities:
Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest, Riparian, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 5500 - 8500 feet
Color:
White to pale bluish
Shape:
Bell-shaped in elongated clusters
Tubular:
Y
Flowering Period:
May - Aug
Description:
Flowers are 1/8 to 3/16 inch long, bell-like and grow in dense clusters along 1 side of the blooming stem so that the tips hook over like a coiled scorpion's tail. Stamens extend 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches beyond the petals on slender white thread-like stalks.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Round or oval
Leaf Margin:
Lobed
Leaf Attachment:
Basal and alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
Leaves are oval in outline with the blades growing 3/4 to 4 inches long and 3/4 to 3 inches wide. The blades have deeply divided narrow lobes with the leafstalks as long as or shorter than the blades. Leaf surfaces are hairy and often gland-dotted.
Fruit Color: Yellowish-brown to brownish
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: The fruit is a dry, 2-sectioned capsule that splits lengthwise when mature to release the seeds.
Seed Notes: Seeds may be few to many, are brown and about 1/8 inch long with honeycomb-like indentations (pitted) evenly spread across their surface.
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