Gilia cana subsp. bernardina

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Bernard gilia is a California native annual found in the northern Santa Barbara Mountains and southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert in open, gravelly or sandy flats and washes at elevations of 800 to 1,890 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces delicate white to pale lavender flowers with wide, 4 to 6 millimeter lobes in small clusters of 2 to 3 blooms. Growing with densely tufted, woolly-hairy stems approximately 10 to 20 centimeters tall, it forms compact clusters in harsh desert environments. Its basal leaves are distinctively dense and covered in woolly hairs, creating a soft, grayish appearance that helps the plant retain moisture in arid landscapes. The fruit is widely ovoid, measuring 5 to 9 millimeters long and containing 12 to 18 seeds.

Habitat: Open, gravelly or sandy flats, washes

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: 800-1890 m

Bioregions: n SnBr, sw edge DMoj.

California counties: San Bernardino

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