Silky phacelia

Quick look

Phacelia sericea, the silky phacelia, blue alpine phacelia, or purple fringe, is a showy perennial species of Phacelia endemic to western North America. It grows mainly at subalpine to alpine elevations in forest openings or above treeline among rocks and sand. Sericea comes from the Latin sericeus, or silky, referring to the fine hairs on the leaves and stem.

• It belongs to the Boraginaceae family. ^iNaturalist
• USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) / a subshrub with a biennial, perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
• USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 12 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
• NatureServe lists it as native to Colorado and Wyoming. ^NatureServe
• In Colorado, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in June–August. ^iNaturalist
• In Wyoming, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in June–August. ^iNaturalist
• iNaturalist has 2,554 research-grade sightings of it in Colorado, ranking #56 among the 110 flowers on our Colorado list. ^iNaturalist
• iNaturalist has 801 research-grade sightings of it in Wyoming, ranking #20 among the 107 flowers on our Wyoming list. ^iNaturalist