''Gilia'' is a
genus of between 25 and 50 species of
flowering plants in the
Polemoniaceae family and is related to
phlox.
These Western native plants are best sown in sunny, well-draining soil in the temperate and tropical regions of the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
, where they occur mainly in
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
or semi-desert habitats
They are summer annual plant, annuals, rarely perennial plant, perennials, growing to 10–120 cm tall. The leaf, leaves are spirally arranged, usually pinnate (rarely simple), forming a basal rosette in most species. The flowers are produced in a panicle, with a five-lobed corolla, which can be blue, white, pink or yellow.
''Gilia'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including ''Schinia, Schinia aurantiaca'' and ''Schinia, Schinia biundulata'' (the latter feeds exclusively on ''G. cana'').
;Selected species:
References
Flora of Chile: ''Gilia'' (pdf file)
Gilia,
Flora of North America
Polemoniaceae genera
{{Polemoniaceae-stub