[The Genus Phacelia East of the Cascade Mts. East of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington]

Yellow Phacelia

Phacelia lutea var. lutea

Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens

Yellow Phacelia: Phacelia lutea var. lutea (Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens)

The photo above shows a close-up of yellow phacelia (variety lutea) as seen near Flagstaff Lake in the Warner Valley of south-central Oregon.........June 24, 2003. Note the deeply lobed leaves.

Inflorescence of Yellow Phacelia: Phacelia lutea var. lutea (Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens)The photo at right shows a close-up, side view of yellow phacelia as seen near Flagstaff Lake in the Warner Valley of south-central Oregon.........June 24, 2003. Note that the corollas are slightly longer than the calyx lobes.
Characteristics:

Yellow phacelia is an annual wildflower with prostrate to spreading, freely branched stems spreading to form mats as much as 40 cm across. The thick, petiolate leaves are oblanceolate to elliptic or ovate in outline with entire margins or some with several broad, rounded lobes. The blades are up to 2.5 cm long and up to 1.5 cm wide.

The numerous inflorescences are small and consists of several yellow, bell-shaped or tubular-bell-shaped corollas. The tube is about 2-3 times longer than the corolla lobes, but the entire flower ranges from 7-9 mm long. The corollas may have some reddish lines and may become purplish before fading to whitish and papery in age. The calyx is up to 5-6 mm long with linear-spatulate segments. The stamens are equal to or less than the length of the corolla lobes.


Varieties of Yellow Phacelia:

variety calva: Corolla is 4.5-8 mm long, generally longer than the calyx. Herbage mostly glabrous, generally not glandular or only glandular in the inflorescence. The filaments are generally longer than the sinuses of the corolla. Found from northern Owyhee County in Idaho.

variety lutea: Corolla is 4.5-8 mm long, generally longer than the calyx. Herbage fairly densely short-hairy, generally not glandular or only glandular in the inflorescence. Filaments generally shorter than the sinuses of the corolla. Found from Harney and Malheur Counties of southeastern Oregon south to Humboldt County in Nevada.

variety purpurascens (now considered part of variety lutea) : Corolla is 4.5-8 mm long, generally longer than the calyx. The herbage is generally glandular-hairy. The longer filaments are longer than the sinuses of the corolla.


Habitat:

Yellow phacelia may be found on open, dry clay to occasionally sandy soils in the deserts and foothills of the intermountain west.


Range:

Yellow phacelia may be found from central Oregon south to Mono County, California and sporadically east to southwestern Montana, southwestern Wyoming, western Colorado and eastern Arizona.


Yellow Phacelia: Phacelia lutea var. lutea (Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens) - Yellow Phacelia: Phacelia lutea var. lutea (Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens) - Yellow Phacelia: Phacelia lutea var. lutea (Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens)

Yellow phacelia as seen in vernally moist swales atop low mesas at the southeastern corner of Hart Mt. National Antelope Refuge.........June 10, 2016.

Yellow Phacelia: Phacelia lutea var. lutea (Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens) - Yellow Phacelia: Phacelia lutea var. lutea (Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens) - Yellow Phacelia: Phacelia lutea var. lutea (Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens)

Yellow phacelia (variety purpurascens) as seen in the ash soils around the central John Day River of central Oregon........May 1, 2004.

Yellow Phacelia: Phacelia lutea var. lutea (Synonyms: Phacelia lutea var. mackenzieorum, Phacelia lutea var. purpurascens)

Yellow phacelia (variety lutea) as seen near Flagstaff Lake in the Warner Valley of south-central Oregon.........June 24, 2003.

Paul Slichter