Phacelia
Phacelia beside wheat, Portland, Dorset
Flowerheads
Stamens and styles
Coiled flower spikes
Overall spiky-hairy look
Tansy-like leaves
Phacelia tanacetifolia
Tansy-leaved Phacelia, Lacy Phacelia, Scorpion Weed
Boraginaceae
Late May to August
It is scattered through the country, but is less common in
the North.
See the BSBI distribution map for Phacelia
It is a neophyte, which has been grown in England since
the 1830s and known in the wild since the 1880s.
It is grown in gardens for its colour and to attract insects.
It is planted on a larger scale in fields as a green manure.
It is also planted in the edges of fields, where it used to
attract bees and hoverflies that feed on aphids.
It is found in bird-seed and as a contaminant of
grass-seed.
It grows as a casual on waste ground and in cracks in
pavements.
The plants shown here were left over in fields planted
by the ortland Bird Observatory to feed migrating birds.
Phacelia is an annual, growing up to 1m.
Flowers are in coiled spikes.
Each flower is up to 1cm across, has 5 purple or blue
petals, 5 long, mauve stamens and a long pale style.
The calyx is very hairy.
The hairy calices, the styles and the long stamens give
the flowerheads a spiky, feathery appearance.
Previous page: Pencilled Crane's-bill
Next page: Pignut
Phacelia beside wheat, Portland, Dorset
Flowerheads
Stamens and styles
Coiled flower spikes
Overall spiky-hairy look
Tansy-like leaves
© Copyright 2004-2024 - CMS Made Simple
This site is powered by CMS Made Simple version 1.11.9