Phacelia saxicola
Encyclopedia
Phacelia saxicola is a species of phacelia
known by the common name stonecrop phacelia. It is native to the deserts, hills, and mountain slopes of far eastern California
and adjacent sections of western Nevada
and Arizona
.
It grows in woodland habitat and cracks in rocky limestone
slopes above the deserts. It is an annual herb growing upright or erect no more than 15 centimeters tall, often remaining smaller and compact. It is glandular and its many small branches are coated in short, stiff hairs. The leaves are no more than a centimeter long with fleshy lance-shaped to bulbous oval blades on short petioles
. The hairy inflorescence
is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of small bell-shaped flowers, each only 3 or 4 millimeters long. The flowers are light blue or purple with whitish throats.
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 stonecrop phacelia. It is native to the deserts, hills, and mountain slopes of far eastern 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...
and adjacent sections of western 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...
and 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...
.
It grows in woodland habitat and cracks in rocky limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
slopes above the deserts. It is an annual herb growing upright or erect no more than 15 centimeters tall, often remaining smaller and compact. It is glandular and its many small branches are coated in short, stiff hairs. The leaves are no more than a centimeter long with fleshy lance-shaped to bulbous oval blades on short 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...
. The hairy 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 small bell-shaped flowers, each only 3 or 4 millimeters long. The flowers are light blue or purple with whitish throats.