Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Phacelia vallis-mortae is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae, known by the common name Death Valley phacelia. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in deserts such as Death Valley, and mountain, plateau, and valley scrub habitat. It is an annual herb growing up to 60 centimeters tall with a branching or unbranched stem. It is coated in soft and stiff hairs. The leaves are up to 8 centimeters long and most are compound, divided into smaller leaflets lined with teeth or lobes. The hairy inflorescence is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of bell-shaped flowers. Each flower 1 to 1. 5 centimeters long and a shade of lavender or purple, surrounded by a calyx of narrow sepals coated in long hairs.

Plant type

Annual herb

Calscape icon
Color

Purple

Plant communities

Creosote Bush Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland, Valley Grassland

Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 4 likely

Confirmed Likely

Geranium Plume Moth

Amblyptilia pica

Ethmia brevistriga

Bilobed Looper Moth

Megalographa biloba

Stamnodes albiapicata