Common Name(s):
Silky Phacelia, Purple Fringe
Genus: Phacelia
Species: sericea
Alpine Phacelia is a tubular, bell-shaped or bowl-shaped flower. It can be blue, violet, or white in color. The anthers of the flowers stick way out past the flower, giving it a fringed look.
"Phacelia" comes from the Greek word "phakelos" which means "bundles". The flowers grow in clusters of 10 to 100 flowers around the top of a straight stem, which can grow to be 1 to 2 feet high. Several stems will grow from one long taproot.
The leaves have several narrow spreading lobes and grow around the stem. They are covered with silky, wooly hairs. The lower leaves are large, with the upper leaves becoming smaller.
The Alpine Phacelia grows on rocky, open or wooded places in the mountains. In the United States they can be found growing at an elevation of 9 -10,000 feet east of the Cascade Range in Oregon, California, Nevada and much of Utah. They can be found on almost all mountains throughout the world.
The Alpine Phacelia blooms in mid-summer. Alpine Phacelias belongs to the Waterleaf family. These flowers are used for bordering peoples gardens.
by Sarah B. 2000
Bibliography:
Field Enterprises Educational Corporation (1996), The World Book Encyclopedia, USA.
"Silky
Phacelia",
http://district.gresham.k12.or.us/ghs/nature/basin/5petal/water/silky.
htm,
(June 2000).
"Hydro2.html",
http://www.larkspurbooks.com/Hydro2.html,
(June 2000).