Gilia cana subsp. triceps
Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native
Gilia cana subsp. triceps is a California native annual found in southern Sierra Nevada, White and Inyo Mountains, western Transverse Ranges, and Mojave Desert in sandy limestone flats at elevations of 90 to 2,400 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces delicate white to pale lavender flowers with cup-shaped throats 8 to 23 millimeters long. Growing with slender, spreading stems that are tufted and woolly-hairy, it forms low, compact clusters about 1 to 5 centimeters tall. Its basal leaves are densely covered in soft, woolly hairs, creating a distinctive grayish appearance with finely textured foliage. The fruit is widely ovoid to spherical, containing 12 to 18 seeds that contribute to its successful reproduction in arid desert landscapes.
Habitat: Sandy flats, generally limestone
Bloom period: Mar-May
Elevation: 90-2400 m
Bioregions: s SNH, W&I, WTR, DMoj
California counties: Inyo, San Bernardino, Kern, Mono
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.