''Gilia austrooccidentalis'' is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name southwestern gilia. The scientific name is sometimes spelt ''Gilia austro-occidentalis''. 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 ...

to the Central Coast Ranges of

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 ...

, where it grows in local hill and valley habitat.

Description

It is a slender herb producing a very glandular stem sometimes laced with cobwebby fibers. The lobed leaves are located in a rosette around the base of the stem. 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 cluster of flowers dotted with glands and webby hairs. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are green to purple and ribbed with membrane between the ribs. The corolla is purple with a yellowish throat.

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 1956 as '' Gilia inconspicua'' subsp. ''austrooccidentalis''. It was raised to a full species in 1960. In both cases, the authors spelt the epithet without a hyphen, as does the

International Plant Names Index The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) describes itself as "a database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of seed plants, ferns and lycophytes." Coverage of plant names is best at the rank of species and genus. It inclu ...

. The Jepson eFlora spells the name with a hyphen.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile''Gilia austro-occidentalis'' - Photo gallery
austrooccidentalis Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Plants described in 1956 {{Polemoniaceae-stub