Nemophila maculata
Encyclopedia
Nemophila maculata is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae
. It is an annual
herb that flowers in the spring. The common name for N. maculata is the fivespot or five-spot. It is a native species to California where it is endemic.
The flower
s of N. maculata are bowl-shaped, white with dark veins and dots. The lobe tips are purple-spotted. The corolla is 1 to 2 centimeters long and up to 5 centimeters wide. The leaves are up to 3 centimeters long and 1.5 wide, and are divided into several smooth or toothed lobes.
The seed
s are greenish-brown and are smooth or shallowly pitted. The fruit
produces up to 12 seeds. The entire fruiting and seed cycle begins in spring and ends in the summer.
N. maculata is often grown as an ornamental plant in gardens.
, and occurs as far south as San Bernardino
and Santa Barbara Counties
. It is found in several plant communities
, including valley grassland
, foothill woodland
, and pine and fir forest.
The spots that give N. maculata its common name evolved to attract its primary pollinators, which are solitary bees. Male and female bees feed on the nectar and females collect pollen to feed their larvae.
Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae, the Borage or Forget-me-not family, include a variety of shrubs, trees, and herbs, totaling about 2,000 species in 146 genera found worldwide.A number of familiar plants belong to this family....
. It is an annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
herb that flowers in the spring. The common name for N. maculata is the fivespot or five-spot. It is a native species to California where it is endemic.
The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s of N. maculata are bowl-shaped, white with dark veins and dots. The lobe tips are purple-spotted. The corolla is 1 to 2 centimeters long and up to 5 centimeters wide. The leaves are up to 3 centimeters long and 1.5 wide, and are divided into several smooth or toothed lobes.
The seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s are greenish-brown and are smooth or shallowly pitted. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
produces up to 12 seeds. The entire fruiting and seed cycle begins in spring and ends in the summer.
N. maculata is often grown as an ornamental plant in gardens.
Distribution and ecology
N. maculata is found on slopes in elevations between 20 and 1000 meters. It is most common in the Sierra Nevada and Sacramento ValleySacramento Valley
The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
, and occurs as far south as San Bernardino
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
and Santa Barbara Counties
Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...
. It is found in several plant communities
Biocoenosis
A biocoenosis , coined by Karl Möbius in 1877, describes the interacting organisms living together in a habitat . This term is rarely used in English, as this concept has not been popularized in Anglophone countries...
, including valley grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
, foothill woodland
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
, and pine and fir forest.
The spots that give N. maculata its common name evolved to attract its primary pollinators, which are solitary bees. Male and female bees feed on the nectar and females collect pollen to feed their larvae.