Phacelia pachyphylla
Encyclopedia
Phacelia pachyphylla is a species of phacelia
known by the common name blacktack phacelia. It is native to the deserts of California
and Baja California
, where it grows in sandy alkali flats
and scrub.
It is an annual herb growing erect to a maximum height around 17 centimeters. It is glandular in texture, the hairs tipped with bulbous glands. The leaves, which are mostly arranged around the base of the stem, have crinkly or wavy-edged rounded blades on petioles
a few centimeters long. The hairy inflorescence
is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of funnel- or bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is about half a centimeter long and light purple 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 blacktack phacelia. It is native to the deserts of 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 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...
, where it grows in sandy alkali flats
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...
and scrub.
It is an annual herb growing erect to a maximum height around 17 centimeters. It is glandular in texture, the hairs tipped with bulbous glands. The leaves, which are mostly arranged around the base of the stem, have crinkly or wavy-edged rounded 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 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 light purple in color.