General: Calthaleaf Phacelia (Phacelia calthifolia) is an annual forb with roundish leaves and an open inflorescence with many small, bell-shaped, purple flowers that all grow from the same side of the branching flower stalk.

Caltha-leaf Phacelia is a common component of desert vegetation communities during the spring. It can be found on flats, in and along washes, and on bajadas at lower elevations in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) Life Zone.

Note: secretions on leaves and stems of phacelias can cause a rash similar to poison oak or poison ivy.

Family: Waterleaf (Hydrophyllaceae).

Other Names: Caltha-leaf Phacelia.

Plant Form: Erect annual forb.

Height: Usually to about shin high, to about 2 feet.

Stems: Erect with few branched, hairy, glandular.

Leaves: Mostly basal; generally round with crinkled edges; to about 2-inches long.

Flowers: Blooms during spring. Inflorescence: open cyme with many small flowers growing on the same side of the flower stalks. Flowers small, bell-shaped, purple.

Seeds:

Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy and gravelly soils on flats, in and along washes, and on bajadas.

Elevation: To about 3,000 feet

Distribution: Nevada to California, Utah, and Arizona, and south into northwestern Mexico.

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