Bloomipedia
Notch-leaf scorpionweed (Phacelia crenulata)
Photo: Isaac Krone via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized

Flower profile

Notch-leaf scorpionweed

Phacelia crenulata

Notch-leaf scorpionweed (Phacelia crenulata) is a flowering plant in the Boraginaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly February–April across the U.S.

Native in the lower 48

Notch-leaf scorpionweed is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 2 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in February–April.

7states where USDA records it
2Bloomipedia state lists include it
10,640U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Arizona, Nevada

Quick look

Phacelia crenulata is a species of flowering plant in the waterleaf family, Hydrophyllaceae. Its common names include notch-leaf scorpion-weed, notch-leaved phacelia, cleftleaf wildheliotrope, and heliotrope phacelia. Phacelia crenulata has an antitropical distribution, a type of disjunct distribution where a species exists at comparable latitudes on opposite sides of the equator, but not at the tropics.

  • It belongs to the Boraginaceae family. iNaturalist
  • USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a annual life cycle. USDA PLANTS
  • USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 7 states. USDA PLANTS
  • NatureServe lists it as native to Arizona and Nevada. NatureServe
  • In Arizona, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in February–April. iNaturalist
  • In Nevada, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in March–May. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 2,207 research-grade sightings of it in Arizona, ranking #42 among the 132 flowers on our Arizona list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 787 research-grade sightings of it in Nevada, ranking #46 among the 132 flowers on our Nevada list. iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (6,403 records)
Bloom time in the 2 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it
StateTypePeak bloomSightings*
ArizonaNativeFebruary–April2,207
NevadaNativeMarch–May787

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA)
Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. USFWS ECOS
NatureServe global
G5 Secure worldwide. NatureServe
Arizona
Not listed Not on Arizona Native Plant Law protected plants (Ariz. Admin. Code R3-3 Art. 11, App. A, eff. Feb. 2, 2025). NatureServe: S3, vulnerable in Arizona. AAC R3-3 App. A
Nevada
Not listed Not on Nevada fully protected plants, critically endangered (NAC 527.010). NatureServe: S4, apparently secure in Nevada. NAC 527.010
Rare elsewhere
No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Please leave it where it grows

Please don't pick or dig this flower: NatureServe ranks it S3 in Arizona. NatureServe

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records notch-leaf scorpionweed in 7 states.

recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah.

Arizona counties with USDA records: Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, Santa Cruz, Yavapai, Yuma.

Nevada counties with USDA records: Churchill, Clark, Elko, Esmeralda, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, Washoe, White Pine.

Names, range and relatives

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 74 counties across 7 states; the most are in Utah (17), Arizona (15), Nevada (13).

Other Phacelia on Bloomipedia (8): Distant phacelia, Blue curls, Purple phacelia, Silky phacelia, Miami mist, Frémont's phacelia, Linearleaf phacelia, Gypsum phacelia.

More from the Boraginaceae family (42 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Virginia bluebells, Virginia waterleaf, Pacific hound's tongue, Alkali heliotrope, Virginia stickseed, Wild comfrey, Menzies' baby blue eyes, California yerba santa.

More Arizona flowers

Distant phacelia (Phacelia distans)

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Carnegiea gigantea

★ AZ state flowerNative

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Creosote bush (Larrea tridentata)

Creosote bush

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🌼 Blooms in AZ: March–April

Sources