Gilia achilleifolia subsp. achilleifolia

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Gilia achilleifolia is a California native annual found in the San Francisco Bay and south coastal ranges in open or shaded grassy places at elevations of 60 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces lavender flowers with delicate corollas 10 to 21 millimeters long, creating distinctive hemispheric clusters. Growing with spreading to erect branches and reaching moderate heights, it develops complex inflorescences containing 8 to 25 individual flowers. Its leaves display intricate branching patterns with flowers featuring tufted-woolly hairy calyxes that add textural complexity to the plant. Small ovoid fruits measuring 3 to 6.2 millimeters develop, containing reddish-brown seeds that are approximately 1.5 to 2.3 millimeters long.

Habitat: Open or shaded, generally grassy places, sandy or rocky soil

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 60-1200 m

Bioregions: SnFrB, SCoR.

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Monterey, Sonoma, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, San Bernardino, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Benito, Fresno, Stanislaus, San Diego

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.