WATER-LEAF FAMILY (Hydrophyllaceae)
BABY BLUE-EYES PURPLE PHACELIA
Flowers usually in curled clusters; calyx deeply 5-lobed; petals united, usually 5; stamens 5, on corolla-tube; ovary superior; styles 2.
Baby Blue-Eyes. Flannel Breeches (Nemophila phacelioides) forms a lovely carpet on banks and in moist woods near the prairie regions of Texas and Arkansas. The dainty flowers are about one inch broad, with 5 broadly-spreading lobes of lavender, paler at the base. The leaves are divided into 5-9 broad segments which are irregularly toothed. It is not known in cultivation, but a similar plant from California is used to cover beds in which bulbs are planted.
Purple Phacelia (Phacelia patuliflora) is a low, spreading annual growing on sandy prairies in the southern part of the state. “Patuliflora” means “spreading flower” and refers to the royal purple corollas which are widely spreading and nearly an inch broad. It is the handsomest phacelia among the fifteen or more species found in the state. It blooms from February to May.
Blue nama (Nama ovatum) is a water-leaf growing in ponds and streams of East Texas and blooming in the summer. It has lovely sky-blue flowers nearly an inch broad and spiny stems. Sand bells (Nama hispidum) has small, reddish-purple, bell-shaped corollas.
BLUE CURLS
Blue Curls. Fiddle-Neck (Phacelia congesta) is also known as spider-flower, caterpillars, snail-flower, and wild heliotrope. It has curled flower clusters and lavender-blue flowers very much like those of some of the heliotropes and borages. A California borage is also called fiddle-neck. The flowers are tubular at the base with 5 broadly spreading lobes. The 5 spreading stamens extending from the flowers are responsible for the name of “spider-flower.”
The erect, unbranched stems may be seen on gravelly limestone slopes or in open woods from Central to Southwestern Texas. The large, thin leaves are finely divided and clothed with soft hairs. In woods the plants may grow 1½-2 ft. high, but on rocky slopes they are seldom more than a foot high. The flowers bloom in April and May, a long blooming season resulting from the numerous flowers which open as the curling stems unfold. It is an annual plant which does well in cultivation and makes a lovely addition to the flower garden.
Nearly a hundred phacelias are found in Western North America. The name is from the Greek meaning “cluster.” Most of them are showy plants, but few are known in cultivation.