Silky Phacelia (Phacelia sericea)

Upper Royal Basin Trail, Olympic NP, 7/2016.

This is the most attractive phacelia we’ve encountered. It has the telltale characteristics of the family, with soft silvery leaves and stems of flower clusters each with stamens extending beyond the petals.  But sericea, unlike its white flowering relatives, provides a bolt of color on the rocky shale or rock crevices of sub-alpine meadows.

Marmot Pass, Buckhorn Wilderness, WA, 7/2017.

Marmot Pass, Buckhorn Wilderness, WA, 7/2017.

Upper Royal Basin Trail, Olympic NP, 7/2016.