Boraginaceae

Hackelia diffusa

Spreading Stickseed

Erect, covered with soft to stiff whitish hairs. Stems several, branching from base. Leaf blades 1/3–1/2 in. wide. Basal leaf blades taper to margined petiole, together are 3–8 in. long; stem leaves smaller, sessile, sometimes clasping. Flowers on spreading branches at top. Flowers white or rarely blue, open wide, almost 1/2 in. across. Seed distinguished from H. micrantha by having more prickles on areas between margins. Grows in rocky places in sagebrush-steppe and ponderosa pine forests, on cliffs and talus in the Columbia River Gorge.

• Rarity: Locally Common
• Flowering Time: Late Spring
• Life Cycle: Perennial
• Height: 12--20 inches
• Habitat: East-Side Forest, Shrub-Steppe
• Found In: N Cascades Np
• Native: Yes