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Plant Profile

Troublesome Phacelia (Phacelia gina-glenneae)

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Hydrophyllaceae
State: CO
Nature Serve ID: 941899
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection:

Description:

Phacelia gina-glenneae is an annual in the waterleaf family. It can range from 5-12 cm high by 2-10 cm wide. Stems can be solitary or branching from the base. The flowers are pink to purple and cluster in a terminal cyme. Light green leaves are irregularly lobed to pinnatifid. P. gina-glenneae is a recently described species (Atwood & Welsh 2013), known from only one location in Grand County, Colorado. Gina Glenne discovered the species when she noticed that it had different morphological characteristics than other Phacelia species. Genetic analyses conducted by Denver Botanic Gardens (in prep for publication) confirmed P. gina-glenneae as a separate species from the geographically and morphologically similar species, P. formosula. The one population of P. gina-glenneae is relatively small (number of individuals has not yet been determined) and occurs alongside a population of Penstemon penlandii, a federally listed forb known from only two locations.

Where is Troublesome Phacelia (Phacelia gina-glenneae) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Occurs on tan-colored shale/clay substrates. Associated species include Astragalus kentrophyta, Chrysothamnus, Artemisia tridentata, and Purshia tridentata (Atwood & Welsh 2013).

Distribution:

Known from only one location in Grand County, near Kremmling, Colorado.

States & Provinces:

Troublesome Phacelia can be found in Colorado

Which CPC Partners conserve Troublesome Phacelia (Phacelia gina-glenneae)?

Denver Botanic Gardens

Not Sponsored

Conservation Actions

Assigned 10/31/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

10/13/2020

This species was part of a genetic analysis to characterize the genetic diversity and structure of the Phacelia genus (Riser et al. 2017).

Alexandra Seglias

12/13/2017

Seed was collected in 2017 and is stored at Denver Botanic Gardens and the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation.

Alexandra Seglias

12/13/2017

Primary threats include livestock trampling and energy development.

Alexandra Seglias

12/13/2017

The type locality is the only known population at this time.

Alexandra Seglias

12/13/2017

This species was part of a genetic analysis to characterize the genetic diversity and structure of the Phacelia genus (Riser et al. 2017).