Gilia stellata

Star gilia

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Star gilia is a native annual found in the eastern Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert in sandy desert flats and washes at elevations below 1,770 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces pink or white flowers in funnel-shaped corollas 6 to 10 millimeters long with distinctive yellow throats marked by purple spots. Growing with multiple branches from its base, the plant reaches 10 to 40 centimeters tall with stems that are gland-dotted above and covered in white, sharply bent hairs. Its basal leaves form a grayish rosette with 1 to 2-pinnate lobes, having linear axes and short-pointed teeth on both sides of each lobe. The small fruits are widely ovoid, measuring 5 to 7 millimeters long and containing 9 to 18 seeds.

Habitat: Common. Sandy desert flats, washes

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: < 1770 m

Bioregions: SNE, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Monterey

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