''Gambelia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of flowering plants in the

Antirrhineae The Antirrhineae are one of the 12 tribes of the family Plantaginaceae. It contains the toadflax relatives, such as snapdragons. Description and uses Most Antirrhineae are herbaceous, short-lived, perennial or annual plants growing at most a ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

of the

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

family commonly known as bush snapdragons. This genus is native to northwestern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, particularly the Baja California Peninsula, but species are also found on the coast of

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

Guadalupe Island Guadalupe Island ( es, Isla Guadalupe, link=no) is a volcanic island located off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean. The ...

, and the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The genus is named in honor of

William Gambel William Gambel (June 1823 – December 13, 1849) was an American naturalist, ornithologist, and botanist from Philadelphia. As a young man he worked closely with the renowned naturalist Thomas Nuttall. At the age of eighteen he traveled overland ...

(1823–1849), an American naturalist, ornithologist, and botanist.

Species

Two species are commonly accepted: * ''

Gambelia juncea ''Gambelia juncea'' is a species of flowering shrub in the Plantaginaceae, plantain family commonly known as the Baja California bush snapdragon or Baja bush snapdragon. ''Gambelia juncea'' is a highly variable woody Perennial plant, perennial to ...

'' (

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

) D.A.Sutton * '' Gambelia speciosa'' Nutt. Two other species, originally described by

Townshend Stith Brandegee Townshend Stith Brandegee (February 16, 1843 – April 7, 1925) was an American botanist. He was an authority on the flora of Baja California and the Channel Islands of California, Channel Islands of California. Early life Brandegee was born on ...

from the Cape region of

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...

, are recognized by Kew's

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

as of 2022, but treated by other sources as just variable populations within the polymorphic ''Gambelia juncea''. See the taxonomy section of ''Gambelia juncea'' for details: * ''Gambelia glabrata'' (Brandegee) D.A. Sutton * ''Gambelia rupicola'' (Brandegee) D.A. Sutton The genus ''Gambelia'' was previously submerged into the similar South American genus '' Galvezia.'' However, genetic and morphological analyses have supported the separation of the North and South American species into two genera.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10288175 Plantaginaceae genera Plants described in 1848 Flora of California Flora of Northwestern Mexico Flora without expected TNC conservation status