Taxon Report

Phacelia stellaris Brand

Brand's star phacelia

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Phacelia stellaris, commonly known as Brand's star phacelia, is a annual herb in the Hydrophyllaceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Coastal dunes, and Coastal scrub, growing at elevations from 1 to 400 meters. Phacelia stellaris is ranked 1B.1, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Seriously threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Phacelia stellaris Brand
Common Name:	Brand's star phacelia
Family:	Hydrophyllaceae
Element Code:	PDHYD0C510
USDA Plants Symbol:	PHST7
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	annual herb
Blooming Period: Mar-Jun	Mar-Jun
Elevation:	1-400 (5-1310)
General Habitats:	Coastal dunes, Coastal scrub
Microhabitat:
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	1B.1
Global Rank:	G1
State Rank:	S1
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:	SB_CalBG/RSABG
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	15
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	3
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	6
Unknown (U)	6

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Los Angeles (LAX)(?), Orange (ORA), Riverside (RIV), San Bernardino (SBD), San Diego (SDG)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Baldwin Park (3411718), Del Mar (3211782), El Monte (3411811)(?), Guasti (3411715), Imperial Beach (3211751), La Jolla (3211772), Los Alamitos (3311871), Oceanside (3311724), Point Loma (3211762), Redondo Beach (3311874), Riverside West (3311784), South Gate (3311882), Torrance (3311873), Venice (3311884)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	8
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	6	40 %
Development	3	20%
Foot traffic/trampling	2	13%
Non-native plant impacts	2	13%
ORV activity	2	13%
Other	1	6%
Recreational use (non-ORV)	1	6%
Military operations	1	6%
Erosion/runoff	1	6%

Notes



Known from approximately ten occurrences. Historical occurrences extirpated by development. Threatened by non-native plants. Some plants intermediate to P. douglasii var. douglasii occur in SE Western Transverse Range foothills. See Pflanzenreich 4(251):123 (1913) for original description.
Threats:

Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 14 November 2025].