California Bluebell Seeds|Phacelia minor|California Native Plants|Native Wildflowers|California Wildflower Seeds|Southwestern Wildflowers

Phacelia minor is a species in the Boraginaceae (Forget-me-not) family known by the common name California Bluebell. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in coastal sage scrub and chaparral, in the deserts and coastal and inland mountains, and in areas recently burned. It is an annual herb producing a mostly unbranched erect stem 20 to 60 centimeters tall. It is hairy and coated in stiff glandular hairs. The leaves are up to 11 centimeters long with toothed, crinkly, oval or rounded blades borne on long petioles. The showy flower cluster is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of many bell-shaped flowers, each up to 4 centimeters in length. The large flowers are lavender to deep blue-purple in color with protruding stamens tipped with white anthers. It is a small but showy flower that does well in dry, inland gardens. It can be easily confused with Phacelia Parryi, and their ranges overlap, but more easily distinguished when in flower.

It should be noted that there are a very large number of species in the genus Phacelia. Most are annuals. Gardeners should look for species appropriate to their area and garden conditions.

Packet will contain 40+ seeds.