Known also as “scorpionweed” and “wild heliotrope,” phacelia is a
handsome plant with coarse foliage, somewhat hairy and sticky. Among
other plants it often grows to a height of 18 inches, but on dry, open
desert flats is usually much shorter. Flowers, which may be found from
February to June, are sweet scented, but the foliage has a disagreeable
odor. _Crenulata_, which is one of many species, grows from New Mexico
and southern Utah throughout Arizona to Lower California. It is
conspicuous among the spring-blooming flowers of the desert. The curling
flower heads which bear some resemblance to the erect tail of a scorpion
are responsible for the name “scorpionweed.”
_Phacelia crenulata_ Waterleaf Family
[Illustration: PHACELIA]