Gilmania luteola

Golden-carpet gilmania

Family: Polygonaceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Golden-carpet gilmania is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native annual found in the Death Valley region of Inyo County in clay habitats at elevations of 10 to 500 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces distinctive yellow flowers in small clusters 1 to 2 millimeters long. Growing as a low-spreading plant 3 to 12 centimeters tall with a rounded form up to 15 centimeters in diameter, it forms delicate ground-hugging mats. Its leaves grow in whorls of three, with blades 5 to 15 millimeters long and 3 to 8 millimeters wide, typically glabrous or sparsely hairy. The fruit develops as a small brown, obconic structure approximately 1.5 to 2 millimeters long with a curved embryo.

Habitat: Clay

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: 10-500 m

Bioregions: DMoj (Death Valley, Inyo Co.).

California counties: Inyo

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