A deep purple flower decorating the foothills over the past couple of weeks is cleftleaf wildheliotrope (Phacelia crenulata). It has some better common names: notch-leaved phacelia, desert phacelia, scalloped phacelia, and heliotrope phacelia. It's a member of the Waterleaf Family (Hydrophyllaceae).
Flowers have five lobes, stamens that extend from the flower and are tipped in yellow, and often are in hairy, terminal coils that give it yet another common name: scorpionweed.
When the rainfalls at just the right time, the desert floor can be painted with this purple annual.
For more information about cleftleaf wildheliotrope, click here.
Addendum: I spotted a few of these all-white phacelia mixed in with the purple ones. Not sure what's going on here, but they were very pretty!
1 comment:
Wow. Love the bottom shot.
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