Phacelia fremontii
Encyclopedia
Phacelia fremontii is a flowering plant
in the family Boraginaceae
, native to California
and the Southwestern United States
. Its range includes the Mojave Desert
, San Joaquin Valley
, and chaparral
habitats. It was named for John C. Frémont
.
growing 7-30 cm tall, with deeply lobed or compound leaves
1.5-5 cm long. The flower
s are blue to lavender with a yellow throat, 7-15 mm long (rarely to 20 mm). The plant grows in gravelly and sandy soils in most of the desert. It can also be found in varied mountain, valley, and plateau habitat types.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the family Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae, the Borage or Forget-me-not family, include a variety of shrubs, trees, and herbs, totaling about 2,000 species in 146 genera found worldwide.A number of familiar plants belong to this family....
, native to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
. Its range includes the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
, and chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
habitats. It was named for John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
.
Description
Phacelia fremontii is an annual plantAnnual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
growing 7-30 cm tall, with deeply lobed or compound leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
1.5-5 cm long. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are blue to lavender with a yellow throat, 7-15 mm long (rarely to 20 mm). The plant grows in gravelly and sandy soils in most of the desert. It can also be found in varied mountain, valley, and plateau habitat types.