''Aliciella sedifolia'' (formerly ''Gilia sedifolia'') is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name stonecrop gilia. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

in the United States, where it is limited to a small area in the San Juan Mountains.''Gilia sedifolia''.
The Nature Conservancy. This plant is unlikely to be confused with any other.Anderson, D.G. (2004, August 9)
''Gilia sedifolia'' Brandeg. (stonecrop gilia): A technical conservation assessment.
nline USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. It is a perennial herb growing from a taproot, reaching only a short stature. The leaves are linear in shape and succulent in texture, resembling those of stonecrops (''Sedum''), giving the species its name. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a spikelike cluster of blue-purple flowers. The seeds are winged. Blooming occurs in July and August, and possibly September. This plant is limited to the

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

s of the high San Juan Mountains. It grows on white

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

talus. The local

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...

is between 11,800 and 13,400 feet. Alpine avens (''Geum rossii'') is a dominant plant in the area, but the gilia only occurs in bare patches amidst the plant cover. This is "an extremely rare endemic" plant, with only two occurrences known. The first population was in an uncertain location and when searchers were unable to find it the plant was feared

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

. This occurrence was rediscovered in 2007. In the meantime a second occurrence was found on Half Peak; it is made up of two stands of plants totalling 1100 individuals. All the plants are on land managed by the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

. This plant is threatened by off-road vehicle use.

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q4726324 sedifolia Flora of Colorado Endemic flora of the United States San Juan Mountains (Colorado) Critically endangered flora of the United States Taxa named by Townshend Stith Brandegee