''Nemophila'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial no ...

found in the flowering plant family

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the ord ...

. Most of the species in ''Nemophila'' contain the phrase "baby blue eyes" in their common names. ''N. menziesii'' has the common name of "baby blue eyes". ''N. parviflora'' is called the "smallflower baby blue-eyes" and ''N. spatulata'' is called the "Sierra baby blue eyes". An exception to this naming tendency is ''N. maculata'', whose common name is fivespot. ''Nemophila'' species are mainly native to the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

, though some species are also found in

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Gua ...

, and in the southeastern

. They are commonly offered for sale for

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

cultivation. Generally these are ''Nemophila'' menziesii''.

Description

All species of ''Nemophila'' are

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

s, and most bloom in the spring. Their

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

s have five petals and are bell or cup-shaped, and purple, blue, or white in color, often spotted or marked. The stamens are included and there is only one ovary chamber. The leaves are simple, with an opposite or alternate arrangement. The petiole is generally bristly. The leaf blade is pinnately toothed or lobed. The fruit is 2–7 mm wide and generally enclosed by the calyx. The fruit itself is spherical to ovoid in shape. It is also hairy. The seeds are ovoid, smooth, wrinkled or pitted. At one end there is a colorless, conic appendage.

Occurrence

Generally the genus is native to United States of America, (they are found within the states of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming), Canada (they are found within the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia) and

. Some of the species of ''Nemophila'' are of restricted range. For example, ''Nemophila menziesii'' has been observed only in western North America, but chiefly in California. ''Nemophila heterophylla'' occurs in a more restricted range within northern and central California (with some proximate state populations); ''N. heterophylla'' has the greatest number of sightings

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

at locations such as Ring Mountain.

Etymology

''Nemophila'' means "woodland-loving", from the Greek words νέμος (némos) meaning wooded pasture, glade and ''philos'', which means "loving".

Species

There are 13 accepted Species in ''Nemophila'', according to

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants b ...

, Kew; *'' Nemophila aphylla'': Smallflower baby blue eyes *'' Nemophila breviflora'': Great Basin nemophila, Basin nemophila *'' Nemophila heterophylla'': Small baby blue eyes, *'' Nemophila hoplandensis'': *'' Nemophila kirtleyi'': Kirtley's nemophila *'' Nemophila maculata'': Fivespot, five-spot *'' Nemophila menziesii'': Baby blue eyes *'' Nemophila parviflora'': Smallflower nemophila, small-flowered nemophila *'' Nemophila pedunculata'': Littlefoot nemophila, meadow nemophila *'' Nemophila phacelioides'': Largeflower baby blue eyes *'' Nemophila pulchella'': Eastwood's nemophila, Eastwood's baby blue eyes *'' Nemophila sayersensis'' : *'' Nemophila spatulata'': Sierra nemophila, Sierra baby blue eyes ''N. menziesii'', ''N. parviflora'', and ''N. pulchella'' have varieties under each species.

References

External links

Jepson Flora Project (1993): NemophilaCalflora
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2738306 Boraginaceae genera Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of Illinois Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Texas Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of Northwestern Mexico