Phacelia cicutaria 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...

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of Phacelia

Phacelia

Phacelia is a genus of about 200 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants, native to North and South America....

native to 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...

, southern 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 Baja California

Baja California

Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...

. It grows mainly in chaparral

Chaparral

Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...

, frequently in burnt areas or on rocky slopes.

Description

Phacelia cicutaria is an upright annual shrub growing up to than 0.6 m (2') high. Its foliage is deeply lobed, 2–15 cm. (1-6") long, with spiked segments. The flower buds are held in tight, hairy coils which uncoil as the flowers open one by one. The flowering stems' resemblance of caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s lends this plant its common name. Flowers appear Mar-May and are dirty-white to pale lavender in color.

Cultivation

Phacelia cicutaria is drought tolerant, making it ideal for xeriscaping

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping and xerogardening refers to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation...

. It can be propagated by seed, germination of which may be stimulated with aqueous extracts of charred wood, or the charred wood itself.

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment