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Taxon  Report  
Polemonium occidentale  Greene
Great polemonium,   Western polemonium,   Western sky pilot
Polemonium occidentale is a perennial herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in western North America.
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
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Bloom Period
Genus: Polemonium
Family: Polemoniaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands: Occurs usually in wetlands, occasionally in non wetlands

Communities: Yellow Pine Forest, Red Fir Forest, Lodgepole Forest, Subalpine Forest, wetland-riparian

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + PLANTS

Alternate Names:
JM93Polemonium caeruleum ssp. amygdalinum
ICPNPolemonium caeruleum
JEFPolemonium occidentale ssp. occidentale
Information about  Polemonium occidentale from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
This plant is available commercially.
Jepson eFlora

USDA PLANTS Profile (POOC2)

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[10000thingsofthepnw.com] Common Name Meaning: This rather spectacular member of the phlox family (Polemoniaceae) also goes by the names of western sky-pilot, western polemonium, and giant polemonium. The common name Jacob?s ladder refers to the supposed resemblance of the opposing, but slightly offset, leaflets to the biblical Jacob?s vision of a ladder to heaven. (link added by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 11/04/2024).