Taxon Report

Phacelia ramosissima Lehm. var. austrolitoralis Munz

south coast branching phacelia

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Phacelia ramosissima var. austrolitoralis, commonly known as south coast branching phacelia, is a perennial herb in the Hydrophyllaceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Chaparral, Coastal dunes, Coastal scrub, and Marshes and swamps (coastal salt), growing at elevations from 5 to 300 meters. Phacelia ramosissima var. austrolitoralis is ranked 3.2, Plants About Which We Need More Information, A Review List; Moderately threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Phacelia ramosissima Lehm. var. austrolitoralis Munz
Common Name:	south coast branching phacelia
Family:	Hydrophyllaceae
Element Code:	PDHYD0C416
USDA Plants Symbol:	PHRAA
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial herb
Blooming Period: Mar-Aug	Mar-Aug
Elevation:	5-300 (15-985)
General Habitats:	Chaparral, Coastal dunes, Coastal scrub, Marshes and swamps
Microhabitat:	Rocky (sometimes), Sandy
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	3.2
Global Rank:	G5?T3Q
State Rank:	S3
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:	changed from 4.2 to 3.2 on 2011-09-28 added to 4.2 on 2007-05-17

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	0
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	0

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Los Angeles (LAX), Orange (ORA), San Diego (SDG)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Dana Point (3311746), Del Mar (3211782), La Habra (3311788)?, Laguna Beach (3311757), Newport Beach (3311768), Venice (3311884)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	0
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	0	0 %

Notes



Previously on List 4.2. Occurrences from MON and SLO counties may be misidentified. Many collections old; need field surveys.
Threats:
Threatened by development. Possibly threatened by non-native plants.
Taxonomy:
A synonym of P. ramosissima in TJM 2. Characters distinguishing the varieties of P. ramosissima do not work most of the time; needs further study.

Selected References

CRPR List Addition on 2007-05-17

CRPR List Change on 2011-09-28

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 28 October 2025].