''Gilia brecciarum'' is an annual flowering plant in the phlox family (

Polemoniaceae The Polemoniaceae (Jacob's-ladder or phlox family) are a family of flowering plants consisting of about 25 genera with 270–400 species of annuals and perennials native to the Northern Hemisphere and South America, with the center of diversity ...

), known by the common name Nevada gilia or break gilia.Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2013, p. 49

Range and habitat

It is native to the western United States from

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 ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, where it grows in open areas in sandy soils, such as desert, plateau, and dry mountain slopes.

Growth pattern

This is a spindly wildflower with thin, branching stems reaching 10 to 40 centimeters in maximum height.

Leaves and stems

The leaves are made up of multilobed leaflets usually straight and with rounded ends. The stems and foliage are shiny green and covered in cobweb-like fibers, particularly on the lower stem. The herbage has an unpleasant

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...

like scent.

Flowers and fruit

Flowers appear in small clustered

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 ...

s at the ends of the stem branches. Each is on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

covered in hairlike black glands. The glandular flower has a small throat opening into a flat-faced pinkish-lavender corolla with five protruding purple-anthered

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. The center of the flower and throat may have purple and yellow blotches. The fruit is an egg-shaped capsule about half a centimeter long.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5561818 brecciarum Flora of Nevada Flora of Oregon Flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the California desert regions Flora without expected TNC conservation status