Five-Spot Baby Summer Flower Nemophila Maculata
FIVE-SPOT BABY
The mauve veins on each of the five petals end in a purplish-blue spot, hence the common name of this small plant. It can flower for months on end, bearing relatively large blooms almost 1V2 in wide. The plant itself reaches a maximum height of 8 in and has a considerable spread. If there is nothing to support them, the lax and watery stems become penduloys, splended for the “front row” of flower beds and borders and perhaps even more so for containers or hanging baskets. make sure that the succulent foliage never dries out. Always give it plenty of water, otherwise you will definetely lose the plant and shelter it from fierce sun and drying winds.
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.
