baby-blue-eyes

Baby blue eyes
Baby blue eyes, Nemophila menziesii var. atomaria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Hydrophyllaceae Genus: Nemophila Species: N. menziesii
Binomial name
Nemophila menziesii Hook. & Arn.
Cultivars
Nemophila menziesii var. atomaria Nemophila menziesii var. integrifolia Nemophila menziesii var. menziesii

The Baby blue eyes, Nemophila menziesii, is a common wild flower of California, whose range extends into Oregon and Baja California. It is a spring-flowering annual that gets its name from the bright blue flowers of two of the three varieties that are recognised. It is also cultivated in gardens.

The baby blue eyes grows virtually throughout California at heights from sea level up to almost 6500 feet (2000 metres). The three recognised varieties differ in their flower colours and distributions:

• Nemophila menziesii var. atomaria has white flowers with black dots on the petals, often with a faint blue tint or blue veins in the petals. It is found on coastal bluffs or grassy slopes in Oregon, Northwestern California, the Central Coast of California, and the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Nemophila menziesii var. integrifolia has blue flowers, with black dots at the centre and deep blue veins. It is found in grasslands, canyons, woodlands, and slopes in the Central Coast, southern Coast Ranges, southwestern California, east of the Sierra Nevada range, and into the Mojave Desert and Baja California
• Nemophila menziesii var. menziesii has bright blue flowers with white centres that are generally dotted with black. It is found virtually throughout California, in meadows, grasslands, chaparral, woodlands, slopes, and desert washes, but it does not occur above 1600m.

External links

• Jepson Manual treatment of the species (click "next taxon" in this page to get treatments for each variety")

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