Nemophila

Nemophila is a genus found in the flowering plant family Hydrophyllaceae.

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". Nemophila 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 Nemophila maculata, whose common name is Fivespot.

Nemophila species are mainly native to the western United States, though some species are also found in western Canada and Mexico, and in the southeastern United States.

Nemophila are commonly offered for sale for garden cultivation. Generally these are Nemophila menziesii.

All species of Nemophila are annuals, and most bloom in the spring. Their flowers 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.


Species
Nemophila 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.

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.

Nemophila aphylla - The Smallflower baby blue-eyes is an ornamental plant.

Nemophila parviflora (Small-flowered Nemophila) is a dicot in the family Hydrophyllaceae. It is an annual herb that grows in the spring. It is endemic to the low to moderate elevation forests of western North America. The flowers of N. maculata are bowl-shaped, white to lavender, solitary from leaf axils. The corolla is 1–4.5 mm wide. The leaves are 10-35 mm long and 8-25 mm wide. They have 2 pairs of lateral lobes and the lobes are entire. The fruit is a capsule with a single seed.

Nemophila pedunculata is a common annual wildflower found throughout western North America. Its common names include littlefoot nemophila and meadow nemophila. It grows low to the ground, with a fleshy stem and thick, bristly leaves. The flowers are tiny, only about a centimeter wide. They are a broad bell shape and they vary widely in color. Some are blue, but most are white with a variety of markings, including small blue streaks or speckles, or an eye-catching purple spot at the tip of each petal.

Nemophila spatulata is a dicot in the family of Boraginaceae. It is an annual herb that grows in California and adjacent areas of western North America. The common name for N. spatulata is the "Sierra baby blue-eyes" or "Sierra Nemophila".
The flowers of N. spatulata are bowl-shaped, white or blue and generally veined and dotted. The lobes are sometimes purple-spotted. The corolla is 2–8 mm long and 2–10 mm wide. The leaves are opposite, 5–30 mm long, and the petiole is winged. The lower blades have 3–5 lobes, are shallow and generally entire. The upper blade lobes have 3–5 triangular teeth.
The seeds are brown and are smooth but shallowly pitted. The fruit produces between 5-7 seeds.

Nemophila breviflora - Great Basin nemophila, Basin nemophila

Nemophila phacelioides - Largeflower baby blue eyes

Nemophila heterophylla - Small baby blue-eyes

Nemophila pulchella - Eastwood's nemophila, Eastwood's baby blue-eyes

Nemophila kirtleyi - Kirtley's nemophila

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