Gilia salticola

Salt gilia

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Salt gilia is a California native annual found in the southern Sierra Nevada, western Mono Pass, and northwestern Mono County in open, volcanic or granitic areas at elevations of 1,350 to 2,700 meters. Flowering from May to June, this delicate plant produces yellow flowers with bright pink-lavender lobes 3 to 6 millimeters long, creating a striking color contrast. Growing with spreading branches 4 to 20 centimeters tall, densely covered in woolly hairs, it forms compact tufted clusters. Its basal leaves are intricately divided into 1 to 2 pinnate lobes, each 2 to 3 millimeters wide, and densely covered in soft, woolly hairs. The tiny fruits are ovoid, measuring 4 to 6 millimeters long and containing 10 to 15 seeds.

Habitat: Open, volcanic or granitic areas

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 1350-2700 m

Bioregions: SNH, w MP, nw SNE (Mono Co.)

California counties: Lassen, Alpine, Modoc, Mono

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