Hydrophyllaceae
Waterleaf Family
The Hydrophyllaceae family (Waterleaf Family) is a botanical family placed in the order Boraginales. It is represented by a single species in the SASYA catalogue. That species is a herb. Several members are valued in traditional medicine.
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Often hairy, lobed or divided leaves on herbs; bell-shaped flowers with five fused petals are typically arranged along one side of a coiled, fiddlehead-like inflorescence that gradually uncurls as the flowers open in sequence.
The coiled, uncurling flower cluster, opening its blooms in sequence from the base as it unrolls much like a fern fiddlehead, is a distinctive and easy-to-spot growth pattern.
To check whether a plant belongs to Hydrophyllaceae, compare the leaf arrangement, leaf type, flower symmetry, fruit type, and one distinctive marker together. A single feature can mislead; the family pattern is the combination.
Learn the full family-identification methodNotable members
Families that can look similar
Boraginaceae
Compare against Boraginaceae when the plant shares similar leaves, flowers, or fruit. Confirm by checking the full family pattern.
Compare BoraginaceaeAll 1 species in HYDROPHYLLACEAE
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