Nemophila maculata
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| Nemophila maculata |
Nemophila maculata is a dicot in the family Boraginaceae. It is an annual herb that grows in the spring. The common name for N. maculata is the Fivespot or Five-spot. It is a native species to California where it is endemic.
The flowers of N. maculata are bowl-shaped, white with dark veins and dots. The lobe tips are purple-spotted. The corolla is 8–20 mm long and 1–5 mm wide. The leaves are 8–30 mm long and 3-15 mm wide. They have 5–9 lobes and the lobes are either entire or 1–3 toothed.
The seeds are greenish-brown and are either smooth or shallowly pitted. The fruit produces between 2–12 seeds. The entire fruiting and seed cycle begins in spring and ends in the summer.
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[edit] Habitat and Plant Communities
N. maculata is found on slopes in elevations between 20–1,000 m. It is found in the following plant communities:
- Valley grassland
- Foothill woodland
- Yellow pine forest
- Red fir forest
[edit] Distribution
N. maculata is distributed in meadows, road banks and woodlands. The majority of specimens found are in the Sierra Nevada and the Sacramento Valley. They have also been identified as far south in the San Bernardino County and Santa Barbara County.
[edit] Ecology
The spots that give N. maculata its common name evolved to attract their primary pollinators. The primary pollinators for the Fivespot are solitary bees. Both male and female bees feed on the nectar. Female bees also collect the pollen to feed to their larvae.
[edit] References
- California Wildflowers (California Academy of Sciences)
- Calflora
- USDA National Resource Conservation Service PLANTS Database
- Jepson Flora Project (1993): Nemophila maculata
