Gilia malior
Scrub gilia, great basin gilia, Great Basin Gilia
(c) Jim Morefield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · licence
Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Gilia malior (Scrub gilia) is a native California herb in the Polemoniaceae family, recognized by . Key features: small size, wrinkled puffed calyx membranes, obtuse obovate lobes.
Scrub gilia is a California native annual found in the Tehachapi Mountains, southern San Joaquin Valley, southern Coastal Range, western Transverse Ranges including Mount Pinos and Liebre Mountains, southeastern Sierra Nevada, and eastern Mojave Desert in open, sandy, rocky flats at elevations of 300 to 2,600 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces lavender flowers with white-spotted bases and yellow throats, typically 6 to 10.7 millimeters long. Growing with delicate stems 5 to 20 centimeters tall that are tufted-woolly-hairy and gland-dotted, it forms spreading, tufted branches. Its lower leaves develop in a basal rosette with 1-pinnate lobes, each linear lobe 1 to 2 millimeters wide and spreading, while upper leaves become more palmate or entire. The fruit is an ovoid capsule 3.4 to 7 millimeters long with detaching seed valves.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: 41 sympatric species. Key features: small size, wrinkled puffed calyx membranes, obtuse obovate lobes
Habitat and range
Habitat: Open, sandy, rocky flats
Elevation: 300-2600 m
California counties: Kern, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Inyo, Lassen, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Modoc
Outside California: southern Oregon, western Nevada
Bloom period
Gilia malior blooms Mar-Jun.
How to tell it apart
vs Saltugilia: Gilia has white cobwebby or sharply bent hairs; Saltugilia has translucent, barely glandular hairs.; vs Navarretia: Gilia has cobwebby/bent hairs; Navarretia has very short uniform glandular hairs and spiny flower heads.; vs Phacelia: Gilia has white cobwebby hairs; Phacelia has coiled flower clusters and straight bristly hairs.; vs Allophyllum: Gilia has white cobwebby or bent hairs; Allophyllum has long fuzzy glandular hairs.; vs Aliciella: Gilia has funnel-shaped flowers; Aliciella has wheel-shaped flowers with spreading lobes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gilia malior native to California?
Yes. Gilia malior is native to California (recorded as native).
When does Gilia malior bloom?
Gilia malior blooms Mar-Jun.
Where in California does Gilia malior grow?
Gilia malior occurs in Kern, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Inyo, Lassen, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Modoc, at elevations of 300-2600 m.
What plant family does Gilia malior belong to?
Gilia malior is in the Polemoniaceae family, genus Gilia.
What habitat does Gilia malior grow in?
Gilia malior grows in Open, sandy, rocky flats.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.