Scientific Family
Hydrophyllaceae
Synonyms
Phacelia tenuipes
Other common names
Mangas Spring scorpionweed
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
4 to 12 inches
Riparian
Yes
Erect, branching, hairy, glandular annual with small purple flowers borne in crowded, coiled elongated flower stalks.
Few stemmed annual with basal pinnately lobed, glandular leaves, few stem leaves; narrow inflorescence with little branching; flowers numerous, up to 1/4 inch wide and crowded, stamens exceed corolla, petals are rounded, styles hairy at their base.
Habitat
Rocky, gravelly soil, slopes, floodplains.
Plant Community
Desert Scrub
Disturbed Areas
Interior Chaparral
Montane Conifer Forest
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Riparian
Low elevation
3200
High elevation
6400
Flower Characteristics
Small purple flowers borne in crowded, coiled racemes (flowers attached by short stalks along a central stem).
Flower color
Bluish-purple to reddish-purple
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
May
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Both basal and stem leaves; stem leaves alternate. Most leaves simple and deeply pinnately lobed; largest leaves compound.
Leaf type
Compound
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Capsule less than 1/4 inch long.
Fruit type
Capsule