Phacelia
Phacelia is a genus of about 200 species of annual or perennial herbaceous plants in the family Hydrophyllaceae, native to North and South America. California is particularly rich in species with over 90 recorded in the region.
The genus includes both annual and perennial species. Many have been cultivated as garden and honey plants.
The mining bee Andrena phaceliae is a specialist pollinator of this genus in the Eastern United States.
Taxonomy
The genus is traditionally placed at family rank with the waterleafs in the order Boraginales. The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, recognizing that the traditional Boraginaceae and Hydrophyllaceae are paraphyletic with respect to each other, merges the latter into the former and considers the family basal in the Euasterids I clade. Other botanists continue to recognize the Hydrophyllaceae and Boraginales after analysing the secondary structure of the ITS1 genetic region rather than its sequence for these higher taxonomic levels. This placed Phacelia within the Hydrophyllaceae. Further molecular taxonomic analysis of the Boraginales has divided the Boraginales in two and placed Phacelia among the monophyletic herbaceous Hydrophyllaceae in Boraginales II., this placement was accepted by World Flora Online, among other taxonomic databases.
Selected species
Phacelia adenophora – glandular yellow PhaceliaPhacelia affinis – limestone PhaceliaPhacelia anelsonii – Aven Nelson's PhaceliaPhacelia argentea – sand dune PhaceliaPhacelia argillacea – Attwood's Phacelia, clay Phacelia Phacelia austromontana – Southern Sierra PhaceliaPhacelia bicolor – trumpet PhaceliaPhacelia bolanderi – Bolander's PhaceliaPhacelia brachyloba – shortlobe PhaceliaPhacelia breweri – Brewer's PhaceliaPhacelia californica – California PhaceliaPhacelia calthifolia – Caltha-leaved PhaceliaPhacelia campanularia – California bluebell, desertbellsPhacelia cicutaria – caterpillar PhaceliaPhacelia ciliata – Great Valley PhaceliaPhacelia coerulea – skyblue PhaceliaPhacelia congdonii – Congdon's PhaceliaPhacelia cookei – Cooke's PhaceliaPhacelia corymbosa – serpentine PhaceliaPhacelia covillei – Coville's Phacelia, buttercup scorpionweedPhacelia crenulata – notch-leaved Phacelia, Cleftleaf wild heliotropePhacelia cryptantha – hiddenflower PhaceliaPhacelia curvipes – Washoe PhaceliaPhacelia dalesiana – Scott Mountain PhaceliaPhacelia davidsonii – Davidson's PhaceliaPhacelia distans – distant PhaceliaPhacelia divaricata – divaricate PhaceliaPhacelia douglasii – Douglas' PhaceliaPhacelia egena – Kaweah River PhaceliaPhacelia eisenii – Eisen's PhaceliaPhacelia exilis – Transverse Range Phacelia, lavender windowsPhacelia fimbriata – fringed PhaceliaPhacelia floribunda – San Clemente Island Phacelia, Southern Island PhaceliaPhacelia formosula – North Park Phacelia Phacelia fremontii – Frémont's PhaceliaPhacelia grandiflora – largeflower PhaceliaPhacelia greenei – Scott Valley PhaceliaPhacelia grisea – Santa Lucia PhaceliaPhacelia gymnoclada – nakedstem PhaceliaPhacelia hastata – silverleaf PhaceliaPhacelia humilis – low PhaceliaPhacelia hydrophylloides – waterleaf PhaceliaPhacelia imbricata – imbricate PhaceliaPhacelia insularis – coast PhaceliaPhacelia inundata – playa PhaceliaPhacelia inyoensis – Inyo PhaceliaPhacelia ivesiana – Ives' PhaceliaPhacelia lemmonii – Lemmon's PhaceliaPhacelia leonis – Siskiyou PhaceliaPhacelia linearis – threadleaf PhaceliaPhacelia longipes – longstalk PhaceliaPhacelia malvifolia – stinging PhaceliaPhacelia marcescens – persistentflower PhaceliaPhacelia minor – Whitlavia, wild Canterbury bellsPhacelia mohavensis – Mojave PhaceliaPhacelia monoensis – Mono PhaceliaPhacelia mustelina – weasel Phacelia, Death Valley round-leaved PhaceliaPhacelia mutabilis – changeable PhaceliaPhacelia nashiana – Charlotte's PhaceliaPhacelia neglecta – alkali PhaceliaPhacelia nemoralis – shade PhaceliaPhacelia orogenes – mountain PhaceliaPhacelia pachyphylla – blacktack PhaceliaPhacelia parishii – Parish's PhaceliaPhacelia parryi – Parry's PhaceliaPhacelia pedicellata – pedicellate PhaceliaPhacelia perityloides – Panamint PhaceliaPhacelia phacelioides – Mt. Diablo PhaceliaPhacelia platyloba – broadlobe PhaceliaPhacelia pringlei – Pringle's PhaceliaPhacelia procera – tall PhaceliaPhacelia purpusii – Purpus' PhaceliaPhacelia purshii – Miami mistPhacelia quickii – Quick's PhaceliaPhacelia racemosa – racemose PhaceliaPhacelia ramosissima – branching PhaceliaPhacelia rattanii – Rattan's PhaceliaPhacelia rotundifolia – roundleaf PhaceliaPhacelia saxicola – stonecrop PhaceliaPhacelia sericea – silky PhaceliaPhacelia stebbinsii – Stebbins' PhaceliaPhacelia stellaris – star Phacelia, Brand's PhaceliaPhacelia tanacetifolia – lacy PhaceliaPhacelia thermalis – heated PhaceliaPhacelia vallicola – Mariposa PhaceliaPhacelia vallis-mortae – Death Valley PhaceliaPhacelia viscida – tacky Phacelia
Dermatitis
There are reports that glandular hairs of stems, flowers and leaves of some species of Phacelia secrete oil droplets that can cause an unpleasant skin rash in some people, specifically from P. brachyloba, P. campanularia, P. crenulata, P. gina-glenneae, P. grandiflora, P. ixodes, P. minor, and P. pedicellata. The major contact allergen of P. crenulata has been identified as geranylhydroquinone and of P. minor as geranylgeranylhydroquinone.