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]

PHACELIA

Dieter H. Wilken, Richard R. Halse, and Robert W. Patterson

Annual, perennial herb, generally glandular-hairy, tap-rooted or from ± thick caudex
Leaves generally alternate, simple to 2-pinnately compound, generally ± reduced upward
Inflorescence: cyme, generally dense, coiled, generally 1-sided; pedicels generally short
Flower: corolla rotate to bell-shaped, white to purple, tube base with scales free or fused to filaments; stamens generally attached at same level, equal; ovary chamber 1 (or 2 below middle), placentas parietal, enlarging and meeting in fruit, style 2-lobed, generally hairy below lobes
Fruit oblong to spheric
Seeds 1–many, oblong to spheric, generally brownish; back generally pitted or cross-furrowed
Species in genus: ± 175 species: Am; some cultivated for ornamental
Etymology: (Greek: cluster, from the dense inflorescence)
Reference: [Halse 1981 Madroño 28:121–132; Heckard 1960 Univ Calif Publ Botany 32:1–126; Lee 1988 Syst Bot 13:16–20]
Bristly hairs may cause severe dermatitis. CA pers often hybridize, difficult to separate. Biennial and perennial herb species by Richard Halse.

Native

P. vallis-mortae J.W. Voss

Annual 20–60 cm
Stem ascending to erect, simple to branched, puberulent and sparsely stiff-reflexed-hairy
Leaf 15–80 mm; blade > petiole, ± oblong, compound, leaflets toothed or slightly lobed
Flower: pedicel ± 1 mm; calyx lobes 4–6 mm, 7–10 mm in fruit, linear to narrowly elliptic, long-hairy; corolla 8–15 mm, funnel- to bell-shaped, lavender to violet, deciduous, scales 0; stamens 6–12 mm, glabrous; style 5–12 mm, short-glandular-hairy
Fruit 3–4 mm, ovoid, puberulent
Seeds generally 4, 2.5–3 mm, pitted
Chromosomes: n=11
Ecology: Sandy to rocky soils, scrub
Elevation: 600–2400 m.
Bioregional distribution: w San Joaquin Valley, East of Sierra Nevada, eastern Mojave Desert, n Sonoran Desert
Distribution outside California: to sw Utah, nw Arizona
Flowering time: May–Jun
Plants from w SnJV with dark-veined corolla have been called var. heliophila (J.F. Macbr.) J. Voss; relationships to P. cryptantha or P. cicutaria need careful study
Horticultural information: TRY.