Hydrophyllaceae

Defining Characteristics

• Alternate or basal leaves, often pinnately divided or lobed
• Flowers 5- lobed , bell-shaped or rotate, often in scorpioid cymes (coiled, one-sided clusters that unfurl as flowers open)
• Stamens 5, often with pubescent filaments, typically exserted from the corolla
• Ovary superior, fruit a capsule
• Plants often glandular-hairy

Notable Genera

• Hydrophyllum (waterleaf)
• Phacelia (~200 species, the largest genus)
• Nemophila (baby blue eyes)

Notes

Sometimes merged into Boraginaceae under broad APG IV circumscription, but many references still treat it as a separate family. Predominantly a North American family. Several species are showy wildflowers; Phacelia tanacetifolia is widely planted as a pollinator cover crop and green manure in Europe.