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. bolanderi A. Gray

Perennial 12–100 cm
Stem decumbent to ascending, glandular-hairy
Leaf: petiole 10–110 mm; blade 30–120 mm, oblong to widely ovate, coarsely toothed or 2-lobed at base
Flower: pedicel 1–3 mm; calyx lobes 6–7 mm, 8–11 mm in fruit, linear to oblong; corolla 10–12 mm, rotate to bell-shaped, pale blue to purplish, deciduous, scales narrow; stamens 9–11 mm, = corolla or slightly exserted, hairy; style 9–11 mm, = corolla or slightly exserted, base hairy
Fruit 6–8 mm, ovoid, rough-hairy
Seeds 30–60, 1–1.5 mm, pitted
Chromosomes: n=11
Ecology: Bluffs, canyons, slopes
Elevation: < 1400 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California
Distribution outside California: Oregon
Horticultural information: DRN, IRR: 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 15, 16 &SUN: 4, 5, 6, 17.