HYDROPHYLLACEAE

WATERLEAF FAMILY

Richard R. Halse, except as specified; Robert W. Patterson, Family Editor

Annual, perennial herb, shrub, generally hairy, generally taprooted
Stem prostrate to erect
Leaves simple to pinnately compound, basal or cauline, alternate or opposite; stipules 0
Inflorescence: cyme (generally raceme-like and coiled) or flowers solitary
Flower bisexual, generally radial; calyx lobes generally 5, generally fused at base, generally persistent, enlarging in fruit; corolla generally deciduous, rotate to cylindric, lobes generally 5, appendages in pairs on tube between filaments or 0; stamens generally 5, epipetalous, filament base sometimes appendaged, appendages scale-like; ovary generally superior, chamber 1, placentas 2, parietal, enlarged into chamber, sometimes meeting so ovary appears 2–5-chambered, styles 1–2, stigmas generally head-like
Fruit: capsule, generally loculicidal; valves generally 2
Genera in family: 20 genera, 300 species: especially w US; some cultivated (Emmenanthe, Nemophila, Phacelia )
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to be included in an expanded Boraginaceae (also including Lennoaceae) [Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 1998 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 85:531–553; Olmstead et al. 2000 Mol Phylog Evol 16:96–112]

NEMOPHILA

Annual
Stem simple to openly branched, prostrate to erect, fleshy, brittle, angled or winged, glabrous to generally bristly
Leaves simple, cauline, opposite or alternate; petiole generally bristly-ciliate; blade pinnately toothed or lobed, generally bristly, upper generally reduced
Inflorescence: flowers solitary in axils or opposite leaves; pedicels longer in fruit, recurved
Flower: calyx bell-shaped to rotate, sinuses generally with spreading or reflexed appendages; corolla bell-shaped to rotate, white, blue, or purple, sometimes spotted or marked; stamens included; ovary chamber 1, style 1, generally lobed 1/3–1/2
Fruit generally 2–7 mm wide, spheric to ovoid, hairy, generally enclosed by calyx
Seeds ovoid, smooth, wrinkled or pitted, with a conic, colorless appendage at 1 end
Species in genus: 11 species: se US, w North America
Etymology: (Greek: woodland-loving)
Reference: [Constance 1941 Univ CA Publ Bot 19:341–398]

Native

N. menziesii Hook. & Arn.

BABY BLUE-EYES

Leaves opposite; lower 1–5 cm; petiole = blade, blade linear-oblong to ovate, 5–13-lobed, lobes obtuse, entire or 1–3-toothed; upper leaves nearly sessile, blade entire or less lobed (sometimes only toothed)
Inflorescence: pedicels 20–60 mm in flower, < 70 mm in fruit
Flower: calyx lobes 4–8 mm, appendages 1–4 mm; corolla 5–20 mm, 6–40 mm wide, bowl-shaped to rotate, bright blue with white center to white (and generally blue-veined and black-dotted); filaments = or > corolla tube, anthers 2–3 mm; style 2–7 mm
Fruit 5–15 mm wide
Seeds 4–20, brown to black, wrinkled and tubercled
Ecology: Meadows, fields, woodlands, roadsides, grasslands, canyons
Elevation: 15–1900 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province, East of Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: Oregon, Baja California
Highly variable; vars. intergrade.

Native

var. menziesii

Leaves: lower 6–13-lobed; upper fewer, short-petioled, toothed or more narrowly lobed
Flower: corolla 5–20 mm, 10–40 mm wide, bright blue with white center or blue-veined, center generally dotted; filaments = corolla tube
Seeds 10–20
Chromosomes: n=9
Ecology: Meadows, grasslands, chaparral, woodlands, slopes, desert washes
Elevation: 15–1600 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province, Mojave Desert
Flowering time: Feb–Jun
Horticultural information: SUN: 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 24 &SHD: 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23; CVS.