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. calthifolia Brand

Annual 10–30 cm, fleshy, ± brittle
Stem spreading to erect, few-branched, short-glandular-hairy; gland-tipped hairs black
Leaves 10–30 mm, ± basal; blade ± = petiole, ± round, entire to crenate, base lobed
Flower: pedicel 1–3 mm; calyx lobes 2–3 mm, 3–4 mm in fruit, ± linear, short-hairy, glandular; corolla 8–12 mm, funnel- to bell-shaped, violet to purple, deciduous, scales linear; stamens 5–6 mm, puberulent; style 5–6 mm
Fruit 4–5 mm, ± spheric, sparsely puberulent; tip sparsely dark-glandular
Seeds 30–50, 1–1.5 mm; cross-furrows shallow, generally 5–8
Chromosomes: n=11,12
Ecology: Sandy soils, generally in creosote-bush scrub
Elevation: < 1000 m.
Bioregional distribution: n Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: w Nevada
Flowering time: Mar–May
Horticultural information: TRY.