Gilia leptantha subsp. pinetorum

Pine gilia, Pine Gilia

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.3

Pine gilia is a California native annual found in the Tehachapi, Southern Coastal, and Western Transverse Ranges (Mount Pinos region) in open, rocky, and sandy pine habitats at elevations of 900 to 2,900 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces delicate flowers with white to pale lavender corollas approximately 9 to 14 millimeters long. Growing with low-spreading branches 5 to 25 centimeters long, it forms a compact, densely tufted basal rosette covered in woolly hairs. Its leaves are densely clustered at the base, creating a distinctive woolly, compact rosette that helps the plant survive in harsh, exposed mountain environments. The fruit is small and spherical, measuring 4 to 5 millimeters long and nestled within the plant's hairy, protective base.

Habitat: Bare summits, open, rocky or sandy, with pines

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 900-2900 m

Bioregions: Teh, SCoR, WTR (Mount Pinos).

California counties: Kern, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Kings, San Luis Obispo

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