''Gilia capitata'' is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names blue-thimble-flower, bluehead gilia, blue field gilia, and globe gilia.

Distribution

It is native to much of western North America from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

to northern Mexico, and it can be found on the eastern side of the continent as an

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 ...

. It grows in many habitats, especially in sandy or rocky soils.

Description

''Gilia capitata'' is an annual herb that is somewhat variable in appearance, with branching, leafy stems reaching anywhere from 10 to 90 centimeters in maximum height and sometimes having glandular hairs on the fleshy herbage. The leaves are divided into toothed or lobed leaflets. Atop the branches of the thick stem are spherical

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 of 50 to 100 small flowers. Each flower has a throat opening into a spreading corolla which may be white, pink, lavender, or light blue. The

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 protrude slightly from the flower's mouth and are white with white, blue, or pink anthers. The plant attracts native bees and butterflies.

Subspecies

There are several subspecies, including: *''G. c.'' ssp. ''abrotanifolia'' - native to

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

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

*''G. c.'' ssp. ''capitata'' - occurs throughout the range of the species *''G. c.'' ssp. ''chamissonis'' (dune gilia) - endemic to the sand dunes of California's central coast; bears bright blue-violet flowers *''G. c.'' ssp. ''mediomontana'' - native to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

*''G. c.'' ssp. ''pacifica'' - grows along the coastline of

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 ...

and California *''G. c.'' ssp. ''pedemontana'' - native to the Sierra Nevada foothills *''G. c.'' ssp. ''staminea'' - found in California and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

*''G. c.'' ssp. ''tomentosa'' - a rare subspecies known from a few occurrences just north of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Gilia capitata''''Gilia capitata'' - Photo gallery

capitata Capitata is a suborder of Hydrozoa, a class of marine invertebrates belonging to the phylum Cnidaria. Characteristics Members of this suborder are characterised by the tentacles of the polyps terminating in knobs. In some species these are o ...

Flora of the Western United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of Alaska Flora of California Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Polemoniaceae-stub