Blue Phacelia
Phacelia distans
Observed in the North Maricopa Mts., Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA. 13 February 2005.
FLOWERS: Five pale blue petals occasionally darker violet or very pale,
almost white. Blooming Feb. to April depending on available moisture.
LEAVES: Soft, minutely glandular, alternate leaves once or twice
pinnately divided.
SEEDS: Each spherical capsule has a couple of seeds. Under 10x
magnification seeds appear pitted.
RANGE: Rocky slopes, wash banks and even on flats in wet years. Fairly
common across the Sonoran Desert, sometimes abundant. Ranges west into the
Mojave Desert. Absent in drought years.
ANNUAL: An upright spring annual rarely exceding
50 cm.
UNARMED.