Gilia cana

Desert gilia, showy gilia, Showy Gilia

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Desert gilia is a California native annual found in desert regions at elevations likely between 100 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from spring to early summer, this plant produces showy flowers with a striking color combination of purple tube, yellow and blue throat, and pink lobes. Growing with branching stems 9 to 32 centimeters tall that are tufted-woolly and occasionally glandular, it develops a distinctive tufted appearance. Its basal leaves form a rosette with 1 to 2-pinnate lobes, each with short-pointed teeth and a delicate woolly texture. The plant occasionally emits a skunk-like odor, adding to its unique desert character.

California counties: San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Inyo, Kern, Tulare, Mono

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