''Aliciella tenuis'' (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''Gilia tenuis'') is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name Mussentuchit gilia, or Mussentuchit Creek 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 ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

in the United States, where it occurs only in the

San Rafael Swell The San Rafael Swell is a large geologic feature located in south-central Utah, United States about west of Green River. The San Rafael Swell, measuring approximately , consists of a giant dome-shaped anticline of sandstone, shale, and limeston ...

.''Gilia tenuis''.
The Nature Conservancy. This plant is a perennial herb growing up to 15 centimeters tall. The basal leaves are divided into lobes. The herbage is coated in glandular hairs that often have sand stuck to them. The flowers are pale blue and appear in May through July. This species grows in rocky, sandy habitat, such as

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) ...

outcrops and talus slopes. The rare plant faces a number of threats, including petroleum exploration, off-road vehicle use, sand and gravel mining, road maintenance, poaching, pesticides, livestock grazing and trampling,

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

of plants, and climate change.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4726327 tenuis Flora of Utah Plants described in 1989