Gilia capitata subsp. capitata

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

blue globe gilia is a California native annual found in the northwestern California, Cascade Range, and San Francisco Bay Area bioregions on rocky slopes at elevations of 30 to 2,400 meters. Flowering from April to August, this delicate plant produces pale blue-violet flowers in dense heads 14 to 40 millimeters wide. Growing with slender stems 20 to 80 centimeters tall that can be glabrous, glandular, or hairy, it develops finely divided two-pinnate leaves. Its intricate leaves are deeply lobed, creating a feathery texture across the plant's structure. The small spherical fruits measure 2.5 to 3.7 millimeters long, with seed capsules containing one to six seeds.

Habitat: Rocky slopes

Bloom period: Apr-Aug(Sep--Nov)

Elevation: 30-2400 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, SnFrB

California counties: Humboldt, Mendocino, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Napa, Siskiyou, Shasta, Santa Barbara, Tehama, Sonoma, Marin, Trinity, Lake, Glenn, El Dorado, Solano, Del Norte, Colusa, Fresno, Santa Cruz, Stanislaus, Plumas, Contra Costa, Nevada, Tuolumne, Santa Clara, Butte, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, Sierra, Yolo

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