wild canterbury bells

Phacelia minor is an annual herb producing a mostly unbranched erect stem 20 to 60 centimeters tall. It is glandular and coated in stiff hairs. The leaves are up to 11 centimeters long with toothed, crinkly, oval or rounded blades borne on long petioles. The showy inflorescence is a one-sided curving or coiling cyme of many bell-shaped flowers, each up to 4 centimeters in length. The large flowers are lavender to deep blue-purple in color with protruding stamens tipped with white anthers. There are reports that glandular hairs of stems, flowers and leaves of P. minor secrete oil droplets that can cause an unpleasant skin rash (contact dermatitis) in some people.