Gilia capitata

Gilia capitata is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names blue-thimble-flower,[1] bluehead gilia,[2] blue field gilia, and globe gilia.[3]

Gilia capitata
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Polemoniaceae
Genus: Gilia
Species:
G. capitata
Binomial name
Gilia capitata

Distribution

It is native to much of western North America from Alaska to northern Mexico, and it can be found on the eastern side of the continent as an introduced species. It grows in many habitats, especially in sandy or rocky soils.

Description

Gilia capitata is an annual herb[3] that is somewhat variable in appearance, with branching, leafy stems reaching anywhere from 10 to 90 centimeters in maximum height and sometimes having glandular hairs on the fleshy herbage. The leaves are divided into toothed or lobed leaflets. Atop the branches of the thick stem are spherical inflorescences of 50 to 100 small flowers. Each flower has a throat opening into a spreading corolla which may be white, pink, lavender, or light blue. The stamens protrude slightly from the flower's mouth and are white with white, blue, or pink anthers. The plant attracts native bees and butterflies.[4]

Subspecies

There are several subspecies, including:

  • G. c. ssp. abrotanifolia - native to California and Baja California
  • G. c. ssp. capitata - occurs throughout the range of the species
  • G. c. ssp. chamissonis (dune gilia) - endemic to the sand dunes of California's central coast; bears bright blue-violet flowers
  • G. c. ssp. mediomontana - native to the Sierra Nevada
  • G. c. ssp. pacifica - grows along the coastline of Oregon and California
  • G. c. ssp. pedemontana - native to the Sierra Nevada foothills
  • G. c. ssp. staminea - found in California and Arizona
  • G. c. ssp. tomentosa - a rare subspecies known from a few occurrences just north of the San Francisco Bay Area

References
  1. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  2. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Gilia capitata". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  3. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
  4. "Gilia capitata (Blue Gilia, Bluehead Gilia, Blue-head Gily-flower, Globe Gilia) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-06.


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