Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Phacelia ramosissima is a species in the Boraginaceae (Borage) family known by the common name Branching Phacelia. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to the southwestern United States, where it can be found in many types of habitats. It is variable in appearance, and there are many intergrading Varieties: In general it is a spreading or sprawling prostrate or upright perennial herb which may approach 1.5 meters in stem length. It is hairless to densely hairy, and some people detect an unpleasant odor from the glandular hairs. The leaves are 4 to 20 centimeters long and most are divided into several toothed or lobed leaflets. The flower cluster is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of funnel- or bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is under a centimeter long and white to lavender in color with protruding stamens.

Plant type

Annual herb, Perennial herb

Size

1 - 4 ft Tall
2 ft Wide

Form

Spreading

Dormancy

Summer Deciduous

Fragrance

Unpleasant

Calscape icon
Color

Lavender, White

Flowering season

Spring, Summer

Special uses

Containers

Sun

Partial Shade

Water

Low

Ease of care

Moderate

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to -10° F

Soil drainage

Fast, Standing

Soil description

Prefers sand or sandstone.
Soil PH: 4.0 - 8.0

Sunset Zones

14, 15*, 16*, 17*, 22, 23, 24*

Site type

Found in various settings including dunes, edges of salt marshes, coastal bluffs, canyons, washes, flats, meadows, and conifer forests

Plant communities

Chaparral, Coastal Strand, Red Fir Forest, Sagebrush Scrub, Yellow Pine Forest

Due to its wide distribution, it can be used with virtually any coastal, chaparral, sage scrub, or woodland plants

Bats
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 9 likely

Confirmed Likely

Geranium Plume Moth

Amblyptilia pica

Annaphila ida

Oso Flaco Flightless Moth

Areniscythris brachypteris

Orange Tortrix Moth

Argyrotaenia franciscana