Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Varileaf Phacelia
Phacelia heterophylla
Waterleaf family (Hydrophyllaceae)

Sometimes omitted from flower books, Varyleaf Phacelia (Phacelia heterophylla) is none-the-less a fairly common plant in Colorado. It is easily overlooked because of its overall "just green" look. A careful examination will show it to be as fascinating as other members of the Waterleaf Family with their protruding and their often coiled, scorpion-like flower tails. All parts of the plant are very hairy. Plant height ranges considerably. Phacelia heterophylla flower heads first appear as tight green spheres, white flowers open from the sphere, and eventually the sphere opens into an arching scorpion tail and flowers fade to rusts. "Heterophylla" is Greek for "different leaves," referring to the varying shapes and sizes of the plant's leaves. Phacelia heterophylla was first collected by Meriwether Lewis on the Lewis and Clark Expedition and was named by Frederick Pursh in his "Flora Americana" in 1814.


©2006 Steve Matson

Description

or from 8 to 40" tall with stems, sometimes branched, erect, stout, hairy. Leaves 3/4 to 3" long, scattered but somewhat crowded at base, varying from to or divided at base, these divisions , whole varying from - (or even ) to with and hairs, leaves overall quite varied in outline and hairiness. begins in a tight sphere and then uncoils in scorpioid form. small, about 1/6 to 1/3" long white, pink, rose, or light purple. greatly , about twice as long as . a .

Field Marks

Hairy, silvery-green plant with variably shaped leaves and tight spheres of flowers that uncurl in the form of a scorpion tail.

© Al Schneider

stamen -- the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower; The stamen consists of an anther supported by a filament.

silky -- Covered with fine soft hairs, with a lustrous sheen. Satiny to the touch.

An entire leaf has smooth edges. Not toothed or lobed.

lobe -- Being divided by clefts.

corolla -- The name for all the petals of a flower taken together.

orbicular -- Circular or nearly circular in outline.

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem.

capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

linear-lanceolate -- Elongate and exceedingly narrow with the sides more or less straight but gradually becomming broader near the base.

exserted -- projected beyond. (Exserted stamens project beyond the corolla tube.)

biennial -- a plant which lives for two years, producing a basal rosette of leaves the first year and a full plant, flower, and seed the second year followed by the death of the entire plant at the end of the second year.

appressed -- pressed close or flat against another surface as in hairs appressed against a stem.

elliptic -- Oval, with no point or a very short point.

blade -- Just the flat part of a leaf. Not the stem.

A simple leaf blade is one that is not divided into separate leaflets.

lanceolate -- Lance-shaped. Long, wider in the middle.

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.