Native Plants

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Bransford, W.D. and Dolphia

Phacelia distans

Phacelia distans Benth.

Distant Phacelia, Wild Heliotrope

Hydrophyllaceae (Waterleaf Family)

Synonym(s): Phacelia cinerea, Phacelia distans var. australis

USDA Symbol: PHDI

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

A finely hairy, branched plant, glandular in upper parts, with fern-like leaves and coils of broadly bell-shaped, blue to bluish-purple flowers.

This plant matures rapidly as the soil dries in the late spring. Despite one of its common names, it is not related to garden heliotropes.

From the Image Gallery

70 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual
Habit: Herb
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 30 inches tall.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Blue , Purple
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May , Jun

Distribution

USA: AZ , CA , MA , NV , WI
Native Distribution: Northern California south to Baja California and east to southern Nevada and eastern Arizona.
Native Habitat: Fields, brushy slopes, and washes.

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Find Seed or Plants

Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:			OBL						UPL	OBL

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.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR

Web Reference

Webref 30 - Calflora (2018) Calflora
Webref 36 - Jepson eFlora (2019) The Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

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

Metadata

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

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