''Phacelia ramosissima'' is a species of phacelia known by the common name branching phacelia. It is native to western North America from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, Ne ...

, where it can be found in many types of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

. 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 (4.5 feet) in stem length. It is branched, hairless to densely hairy, and sometimes glandular. The leaves are 4 to 20 centimeters long and most are divided into several toothed or lobed leaflets. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

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

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
ramosissima Flora of California Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the West Coast of the United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the Northwestern United States Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Plants described in 1830 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Asterid-stub