Native Plants

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Bransford, W.D. and Dolphia

Hydrophyllum fendleri

Hydrophyllum fendleri (A. Gray) A. Heller

Fendler's Waterleaf

Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: HYFE

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

A fairly coarse plant with 1 stem bearing downward-projecting hairs, few large, pinnately divided leaves, and white or lavender, bell-shaped flowers in a loose branched cluster at top or on stalks growing from leaf axils.

This is a common, rather plain-looking woodland plant. Pacific Waterleaf (H. tenuipes), which grows west of the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada from British Columbia south to northern California, has leaves barely longer than wide, divided into 5-9 segments. California Waterleaf (H. occidentale) has blunt points on the leaf segments, unlike the long tapered points of Fendler's Waterleaf, and only 2-4 teeth on each edge.

From the Image Gallery

7 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 3 feet tall.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Purple
Bloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug

Distribution

USA: CA , CO , ID , NM , OR , UT , WA , WY
Native Distribution: Cascade Range from British Columbia south to northern California; southeastern Washington south to northeastern Oregon and east to west-central Idaho; and southern Wyoming south to southern New Mexico and southeastern Utah.
Native Habitat: Moist places in brush and open areas from low to high elevations.

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:			FAC			FACW				FAC

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

Web Reference

Webref 30 - Calflora (2018) Calflora
Webref 37 - Calscape (2019) California Native Plant Society
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Hydrophyllum fendleri in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Hydrophyllum fendleri in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Hydrophyllum fendleri

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-04-05
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back