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Home  /  Plants  /  Budburst Species  /  Phacelia hastata
Phenology Observation Sheet for Wildflowers and Herbs

COMMON NAME

Silverleaf phacelia

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Phacelia hastata

ALSO KNOWN AS

whiteleaf phacelia, silverleaf scorpionweed

Plant family

Borage (Boraginaceae)

Plant group

Wildflowers and Herbs

Silverleaf phacelia is an herbaceous perennial plant native to western North America.
14 reports
2+
OBSERVERS
14+
OBSERVATIONS
!

Identification hints

Silverleaf phacelia has dense white-lavender colored flowers and leaves with distinctive fuzzy silvery green leaves covered in dense hairs. There are four accepted varieties of silverleaf phacelia: 1) including Phacelia hastata var. charlestonensis known as Charleston phacelia or Spring Mountains phacelia endemic to Nevada, 2) Phacelia hastata var. compacta known as compact phacelia or timberline phacelia which grows in mats at high elevation, 3) Phacelia hastata var. dasyphylla aka spearshaped phacelia which is limited to California and Oregon, and 4) Phacelia hastata var. hastata also known as silverleaf phacelia which is found rangewide.
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Did you know?

The flowers often cluster at the top of the stem in such a way as to resemble a curled scorpion's tail and in botany are called "scorpiod cymes".
DISTRIBUTION IN TH U.S.
California , Colorado , Idaho , Montana , North Dakota , Nebraska , Nevada , Oregon , South Dakota , Utah , Washington , Wyoming
HABITAT
Silverleaf phacelia grows in many dry habitats including scrub, woodlands, and forests, up to an elevation of 13,000 feet. The plant prefers sandy, rocky soils.
ATTRIBUTES
Leaves
Leaves of silverleaf phacelia are deeply veined, distinguishing them from other Phacelia species. They are also gray-green in color due to silvery hairs on the leaves. Leaves are lance-shaped to oval, and smooth-edged. Leaves can seem to be clustered coming out of the ground or be attached to stems that either stand erect or lay horizontally on the ground. The stems are stiff-hairy, but not glandular (sticky) and are also grayish-green in color.
Flowers
The flowers of silverleaf phacelia are white or very pale purple with stamens that emerge past the bell-shaped petals. Many tiny flowers attach to on one side of a spike that is coiled into twisted “S” shape creating the appearance of a coiled scorpion tail.
Fruits
Silverleaf phacelia seeds are contained in tiny, hairy, dry capsule fruits that are only a few millimeters in length.
Bloom Time
Phacelia blooms from May through July.

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