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Field Guide


Atwood's Pretty

Atwood's Pretty (Phacelia pulchella var. atwoodii)
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Photo by Walter Fertig; Zach Coury; Zach Coury
Zach Coury 2024; Zach Coury 2024

Phacelia pulchella var. atwoodii

NatureServe conservation status

Global (G-rank): GNRT2
State (S-rank): S2

Utah Wildlife Action Plan status

  • SGCN

External links


General information

Phacelia pulchella var. atwoodii is a small annual herb found in Kane County, Utah and Mohave and Coconino Counties, Arizona.  This species has succulent stems and flowers with purple corollas and yellow tubes. It grows mainly on gypsum containing soils of the Moenkopi Formation among pinyon-juniper, oak, sagebrush, single-leaf ash, and serviceberry communities at 5,100-5,500 feet elevation. 

Description

Phacelia pulchella var. atwoodii is a small annual herb found in Kane County, Utah and Mohave and Coconino Counties, Arizona.  This species has succulent stems and flowers with purple corollas and yellow tubes. It grows mainly on gypsum containing soils of the Moenkopi Formation among pinyon-juniper, oak, sagebrush, single-leaf ash, and serviceberry communities at 5,100-5,500 feet elevation. 

Phenology

Flowers April through May.

Diagnostic characteristics

Phacelia pulchella var. atwoodii is similar to var. pulchella, but differs by its mature height being less than 10 cm tall, shorter leaves, and a fruiting calyx that is only one-third of the capsule. Phaceli pulchella var. atwoodii differs from P. subulonum by having a smaller corolla and much smaller leaves. 

Species range

Described in 1993 as endemic to Kane County, Utah, but re-examination of material indicates that Phacelia pulchella var. atwoodii is also present in Mohave and Coconino counties in northern Arizona (W. Fertig, pers. comm., 2007).

Taxonomy

No, this species does not have taxonomic discrepancies