Phacelia neglecta
Encyclopedia
Phacelia neglecta is a species of phacelia
known by the common name alkali phacelia. It is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States in Nevada
, Arizona
and southeastern California
, where it grows in varied desert habitat, including areas with alkali soils
.
It is a mostly erect annual herb producing a small mostly unbranched stem up to about 20 centimeters tall. It is coated thinly in glandular hairs. The leaves, which are mostly arranged around the base of the stem, have crinkly or wavy-edged round blades on petioles
a few centimeters long. The hairy, glandular inflorescence
is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of funnel- or bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is about half a centimeter long and white to cream in color.
Phacelia
Phacelia is a genus of about 200 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants, native to North and South America....
known by the common name alkali phacelia. It is native to the deserts of the southwestern United States in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and southeastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows in varied desert habitat, including areas with alkali soils
Alkali soils
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH , a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate...
.
It is a mostly erect annual herb producing a small mostly unbranched stem up to about 20 centimeters tall. It is coated thinly in glandular hairs. The leaves, which are mostly arranged around the base of the stem, have crinkly or wavy-edged round blades on petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
a few centimeters long. The hairy, glandular inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of funnel- or bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is about half a centimeter long and white to cream in color.