Nemophila pulchella

Updated on Oct 31, 2023

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Kingdom Plantae Family Boraginaceae Scientific name Nemophila pulchella Rank Species		Order (unplaced) Genus Nemophila Higher classification Nemophila
Similar Nemophila spatulata, Nemophila heterophylla, Nemophila aphylla, Nemophila, Nemophila parviflora

Nemophila pulchella, known by the common name Eastwood's baby blue-eyes, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family. It is endemic to California, where it is found from the San Francisco Bay Area to the southern Sierra Nevada to the Transverse Ranges. It grows in many types of mountain, foothill, and valley habitats.

Description

Nemophila pulchella is an annual herb with a fleshy and delicate stem. The leaves are up to 5 centimeters long and generally divided into five wide, rounded lobes. Flowers are solitary, each on a pedicel up to 3 centimeters in length. The flower has a calyx of hairy, pointed sepals. The bowl-shaped flower corolla is white or blue, the largest just over a centimeter wide.

There are three varieties.

Frémont's baby blue-eyes, var. fremontii, has white flowers, as does

var. gracilis, which is endemic to the Sierra Nevada foothills

var. pulchella has blue flowers with white centers.

References

Nemophila pulchella Wikipedia

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