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Weasel phacelia

Phacelia mustelina

Also called Death Valley Round Leaved Phacelia

Weasel phacelia
Photo: Pete Johnson, CC BY 4.0

Weasel phacelia (Phacelia mustelina) is an uncommon, glandular annual wildflower of the desert mountains and flats of eastern California and western Nevada. It is a species, not a genus, and it is grown mainly for wildflower or native-plant interest, where its key need is full sun and very well-drained soil.

Family
Hydrophyllaceae (Hydrophyll family)
Grows as
Annual
Light
Full sun
Water
Water lightly during establishment, then let the soil dry out between rains; it needs little supplemental water.
Soil
Sandy or gravelly, very well-drained soil.
Temperature
Tolerates hot desert days and cool nights; frost-sensitive as a seedling.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
SE. California to Nevada
Climate
subtropical

About

Phacelia mustelina is an uncommon species of phacelia known by the common names weasel phacelia and Death Valley round-leaved phacelia. It is native to the desert mountains and flats of eastern California (mainly Death Valley and Inyo County) and western Nevada (Nye County), where it grows in woodland and open scrub habitat.

It is a glandular annual herb growing decumbent or upright to a maximum height around 30 centimeters (1 ft). The toothed rounded leaves are 1 to 4 centimeters (1⁄3 to 1+2⁄3 in) long with blades borne on petioles. The hairy, glandular inflorescence is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is up to a centimeter long and deep to light purple to nearly white in color.

Other Phacelia plants

Glandular yellow phacelia · Limestone phacelia · Aven Nelson's phacelia · Sanddune phacelia · Attwood's phacelia · Southern Sierra phacelia · Fernleaf phacelia · Bolander's phacelia · Shortlobe phacelia · Brewer's phacelia · California phacelia · Calthaleaf phacelia

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Phacelia mustelina by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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