''Nemophila maculata'', commonly known as fivespot, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family (

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the or ...

Distribution

The wildflower is found on slopes in elevations between . The plant is endemic to California. It is most common in the Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, and the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. P ...

in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. It is found in several

plant communities A plant community is a collection or association of plant species within a designated geographical unit, which forms a relatively uniform patch, distinguishable from neighboring patches of different vegetation types. The components of each plant ...

, including valley

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

foothill woodland Foothill woodland is a California vegetation type characterized by an overstory of broadleaf and coniferous trees, generally found in areas of higher elevations and more precipitation than grasslands and oak savannah, and at lower elevations and le ...

, and pine and fir forest.Jepson (TJM2)
/ref>

Description

''Nemophila maculata'' is an

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

herb that flowers in the spring. The leaves are up to 3 centimeters long and 1.5 wide, and are divided into several smooth or toothed lobes. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are bowl-shaped, white with dark veins and dots. The lobe tips are purple-spotted. The corolla is 1 to 2 centimeters long and up to 5 centimeters wide. The flowers' spots, giving the common name fivespot, attracts its primary pollinators, which are

solitary bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

s. Male and female bees feed on the nectar and females collect pollen to feed their larvae.California Academy of Sciences
California Wildflowers: ''Nemophila maculata''
/ref> The

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s are greenish-brown and are smooth or shallowly pitted. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

produces up to 12 seeds. The entire fruiting and seed cycle begins in spring and ends in the summer.

Cultivation

''Nemophila maculata'' is sown as an annual

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

in traditional,

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

, and pollinator/

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment created by a gardener that serves as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibian ...

s. It grows in loose, evenly moist, and well-drained soils. It requires full sun to part shade and will self seed in optimum growth conditions.

References

External links

Calflora Database: ''Nemophila maculata'' (baby blue eyes)Jepson Flora Project (1993): ''Nemophila maculata''''Nemophila maculata'' — UC Photos gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q10860459 maculata Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area Garden plants of North America Flora without expected TNC conservation status