Variable-leaved Nemophila

Canyon Nemophila, White Nemophila, Small Baby Blue Eyes
Nemophila heterophylla
NATIVE

Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)

• Eudicotyledon
  • Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
• Waterleaf Family (Hydrophyllaceae)
• Annual herb
• Leaves
  • Lower leaves are opposite (2 leaves at each junction with stem) with deeply-cut, widely-separated, rounded lobes
  • Upper leaves are reduced, with smaller or absent lobing, and may be alternate (1 leaf at each junction with stem)
• Flowers
  • Inflorescence (flower arrangement) is a small, white, bowl-shaped flower from the leaf axil (junction with stem)
  • 5 fused petals and dark anthers (pollen-producing part of the stamen/male structure)
  • Calyx almost separate, with downward-curving appendages between each lobe
    • Calyx is the collective term for sepals (usually green, outer flower parts)
  • Ovary superior (above the attachment of other flower parts)
• Fruit is a capsule (a dry, multi-chambered fruit that splits open at maturity)
• Height to 5 in.

Distribution

• Native to California
  • Grows predominantly in shady places of canyons and slopes of chaparral, foothill woodlands, and forests
  • See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
• Outside California, grows in Oregon
• Grows at elevations between 100 and 5,600 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)

• Wildlife
  • Provides pollen and nectar for native bees

Name Derivation

• Nemophila (neh-MOF-i-la) – from the Greek nemos, “a glade,” and phileo, “to love,” referring to its habitat
• heterophylla (het-er-OH-fil-a) – from the Greek heteros, “different,” and phyllon, ”leaf,” as the leaves differ on the same plant

Notes

• Lower leaf lobes have been described as “frog-toes”(Muir 2019)
  • Edgewood docents have called it “froggy toes” or “little frog-foot flower”
• Reclassified in the Waterleaf family (Hydrophyllaceae) in 2021 Jepson revision
  • 2012 Jepson revision (2nd edition) had subsumed the Waterleaf family into the Borage family (Boraginaceae)

ID Tips

• May be confused at Edgewood with the less-common Nemophila species, woodland nemophila (Nemophila parviflora var. parviflora)
  • Variable-leaved nemophila (Nemophila heterophylla)
    • Lower leaves lobes are deeply-cut and widely-separated
    • Unique among Nemophila species, petals lack dark spots or striped veins
  • Woodland nemophila (Nemophila parviflora var. parviflora)
    • Lower leaves lobes are more shallowly-cut
    • Petals may have dark spots and striped veins

At Edgewood

• Found in woodlands
  • See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
• Flowers January – April

Specific References

Blackwell, L.R. 2012. Wildflowers of California: A Month-by-Month Guide. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Laws, J.M. 2019. Sierra Wildflowers: A Hiker’s Guide. Heyday Books, Berkeley, California.

General References

Calflora Database. 2014. Berkeley, California.

Calscape. 2018. California Native Plant Society.

Charters, M.L. 2015. California Plant Names: Latin and Greek Meanings and Derivations.

Charters, M.L. 2017. Southern California Wildflowers: Guide to the Pronunciation of Specific, Generic and Family Names.

Corelli, T. 2004. Flowering Plants of Edgewood Natural Preserve (2nd. ed.). Monocot Press, Half Moon Bay, California.

Dave’s Garden.

Elpel, T.J. 2013. Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. HOPS Press, Pony, Montana.

Flora of North America. efloras.org.

Harris, J.G., and M.W. Harris. 2013. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah.

Keator, G. 2009. California Plant Families. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.

Native American Ethnobotany DB.

Regents of the University of California. Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium. University of California, Berkeley.