North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Phacelia bipinnatifida

Phacelia bipinnatifida Michx.

fern-leaf scorpion-weed, fernleaf phacelia, forest phacelia

Synonym(s): Phacelia bipinnatifida var. plummeri, Phacelia brevistyla

Phacelia bipinnatifida (Fern-leaf Scorpion-weed)

Image ID: 9362
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: PHBI2
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Phacelia bipinnatifida
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2018-11-27

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: PHACE
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Phacelia
GENUS AUTHORITY: Juss.
GENUS COMMON: Phacelia
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 100-150 species, of North America and South America, concentrated in w. North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION: Identification notes: 1. Phacelia bipinnatifida and Hydrophyllum virginianum are sometimes confused. P. bipinnatifida has the larger and more basal leaves distinctly bipinnatifid, the lower pinnae often stalked (vs. pinnatifid, the basal or terminal pinnae sometimes 2-lobed, all the pinnae more-or-less sessile), pubescence of the upper stem and inflorescence in part glandular (pubescence nonglandular), and seeds 4 per capsule, black (vs. 2 per capsule, light brown). 2. Phacelia covillei and P. ranunculacea are superficially similar to and sometimes confused with Nemophila aphylla, which see for discussion.
GENUS REFERENCES: Constance (1949)=Z; Levy (1991)=Y; Sewell & Vincent (2006)=X; Murdy (1966); Gillett (1968, 1964).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: HYDROP
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Hydrophyllaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Brown 1817
FAMILY COMMON: Waterleaf Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family…
FAMILY REFERENCE:

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Erect biennial of moist, hardwood forests, especially rich cove forests, boulder field forests and moist cliffs and outcrops in those areas.
STEMS: Stems branched, especially above, and covered with gland-tipped hairs.
LEAVES: Leaves alternate, on glandular-hairy petioles, broadly triangular to oval in outline, to 3 in. long, pinnately divided into 3-7 toothed segments and hairy on both surfaces.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers on hairy stalks in terminal, branching clusters; lavender-blue with a white throat; about 1/2 in. wide; the short bell-shaped corolla spreading into 5 broadly rounded lobes with non-fringed margins.
FRUITS: Fruit a tiny, round capsule.
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 1-2 ft.

DURATION: Biennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Radial (Actinomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: Apr-May

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Lavender-blue

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
						x	x		x

FRUITING PERIOD: Jun.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: High elevation, Moist forests
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Fernleaf phacelia, also known as fernleaf scorpion-weed, is a charming little plant with lacy, divided leaves and small dainty lavender-blue flowers. Once established, these plants will self-sow directly in the garden and will slowly re-seed to cover a large area.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 8
GERMINATION CODE: 5
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
1324	HORT	2006-05-23	Bryan	View
1690	HORT	2005-01-01	Bryan	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
3128	1989-0090			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
5221	3128	11	NCBG staff	2007-05-29	View
5222	3128	189	NCBG staff	2007-05-29	View
5223	3128	79	NCBG staff	2007-05-30	View
5224	3128	1	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5225	3128	8	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5226	3128	60	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5227	3128	65	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5228	3128	66	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5229	3128	67	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5230	3128	71	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5231	3128	72	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5232	3128	75	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5233	3128	76	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5234	3128	77	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5235	3128	80	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5236	3128	137	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5237	3128	187	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5238	3128	188	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
5239	3128	81	NCBG staff	1987-04-01	View
12997	0	198	MacIntyre	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: PHBI2
USDA Common Name: Fernleaf Phacelia
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WV)
Duration: Biennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Phacelia bipinnatifida
COMMON NAME: Fernleaf Phacelia, Forest Phacelia
SYNONYMY: [= C, G, K, Mo, RAB, Va, W, Z; > P. bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida - F; > P. bipinnatifida var. plummeri Wood - F; > P. brevistyla Buckley - S; > P. bipinnatifida - S]
PHENOLOGY: Apr-May; Jun.
HABITAT: Cove forests, especially where rocky.
COMMENTS: W. VA west to s. OH, n. IN, n. IL, and c. MO, south to w. NC, nw. SC, n. GA, c. AL, and n. AR. P. bipinnatifida var. plummeri (= P. brevistyla) is based on a variation with sparser pubescence, larger and less divided leaf segments, smaller flowers, and sub-included stamens and style. These variations are not concomitant, and the distribution of forms showing a complete or partial combination of them is sporadic (Constance 1949). The matter deserves additional study.
RANGE MAP: Phacelia bipinnatifida.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Hydrophyllaceae Brown 1817 (Waterleaf Family)
SUMMARY: A family…
REFERENCE:

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Phacelia Juss. (Phacelia)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 100-150 species, of North America and South America, concentrated in w. North America.
REFERENCE: Constance (1949)=Z; Levy (1991)=Y; Sewell & Vincent (2006)=X; Murdy (1966); Gillett (1968, 1964).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Phacelia bipinnatifida in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Phacelia bipinnatifida in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Phacelia bipinnatifida in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Phacelia bipinnatifida in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Phacelia bipinnatifida in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Phacelia bipinnatifida

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 9362 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 9359 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 19579 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)