Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Fivespot
Nemophila maculata
  
25 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Fivespot (Nemophila maculata) 25 Nurseries Carry This Plant Named for the five purple spots that adorn each flower petal tip, Fivespot (Nemophila maculata) is a cute and cheerful annual that's native to California's Sierra foothills. Fivespot is a member of the Borage family. It is related to Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii), another popular native annual. But it is not related to Desert Fivespot (Eremalche rotundifolia).

Fivespot's appealing white and purple flowers bloom in early spring and attract bees, butterflies, and other insects. Fivespot is a low, compact plant, making it a good choice for containers and small beds. It likes sun or partial shade and does best in loose, nutrient-rich garden soil. Since it is native to cooler regions of California, it tolerates cold temperatures but needs afternoon shade and supplemental moisture in hot, dry climates. Fivespot seeds are often included in wildflower seed mixes and the plant will self-sow in the garden.
Calscape, Bornstein, C., Fross, D., O’Brien, B. (2005). California Native Plants for the Garden. Cachuma Press “Nemophila Maculata - Plant Finder.” Www.missouribotanicalgarden.org, www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=281060&isprofile=0&. Accessed 12 Feb. 2024. ‌
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Annual herb

Size
Size
0.5 - 1 ft tall
1 ft wide

Form
Form
Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Flower Color
Flower Color
White, Blue, Purple

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Winter

Wildlife Supported
 
Numerous insects are attracted to the flowers, including bees and butterflies

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 4 likely * ) SHOW ALL
*
Erynnis funeralis Image
Funereal Duskywing Erynnis funeralisErynnis funeralis
*
Autographa californica Image
Alfalfa Looper Moth Autographa californicaAutographa californica
*
Viridiseptis marina Image
Viridiseptis marinaViridiseptis marina
*
Annaphila depicta Image
Annaphila depictaAnnaphila depicta

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade, Full Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 25

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 0° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers sand but tolerates garden soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.5

Common uses
Common uses
Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
This species works very well with other annual or herbaceous perennial wildflowers in a meadow garden, including the closely related Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii), California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Clarkia sp., Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla), Gilia sp., Lupinus sp., Penstemon sp., Phacelia sp., and many others. Also works well with geophytes such as Brodiaea sp., Mariposa Lily (Calochortus sp.) and Dichelostemma sp., as well as various catcus and succulent species such as Dudleya sp.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment may give satisfactory results. For more uniform germination, stratify for 2 mos. or germinate at cool temperatures (less than 70°F) and in darkness for first 3 days (Cruden 1974).

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
1, 2, 3, 4*, 5*, 6*, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Meadows, roadbanks, grasslands, and openings in forest or woodlans

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 6.7" - 63.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 2.06", Coldest Month: 23.9" - 51.3", Hottest Month: 46.2" - 77.2", Humidity: 1.49" - 25.44", Elevation: 23" - 10141"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Five-spot


Print Plant Sign Print Plant Label
Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In