Spotted Phacelia

Phacelia maculata

Found in bottomlands, granitic flatrocks. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height: Up to about 1 foot
Light: Partial shade, Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry to wet

Phacelia maculata — whole photograph — (c) Laura J. Costello, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle: Annual
Bloom: March to April
Fruiting season: May

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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves

Recorded in 2 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Solution pits on granite. Shown: Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Solution pits, Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

3CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Phacelia

Ethmia zelleriellaZeller's Concealer Moth, Zeller's Ethmia
Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

15BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Phacelia

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

3Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Phacelia

Andrena lamelliterga
Andrena phaceliae
Anthidium palmarum

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Hydrophyllaceae
Flower color: Pink, blue, purple or violet
Fruit begins: May
Fruit ends: May

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “Late March to April” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Pink, blue, purple or violet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Fruit begins · “May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Fruit ends · “May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Height · “Up to about 1 foot” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Conservation status

Alabama rank	S1
Global rank	G3G4
AL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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