Lathrocasis tenerrima

Delicate gilia

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: annual · Native

Delicate gilia is a California native annual found in the eastern Sierra Nevada in sandy, gravelly slopes at elevations of 1,100 to 3,000 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces white to lavender or pale blue flowers with yellow-spotted throats on delicate spreading stems. Growing 3 to 35 centimeters tall with thread-like, branched stems that are stalked-glandular, it has a distinctive open, airy growth habit. Its leaves are alternate, lanceolate to oblanceolate, ranging from 0.5 to 4 centimeters long, becoming smaller and more reduced toward the stem's upper portions. The tiny spherical fruit contains seeds that become gelatinous when wet, reflecting the plant's delicate and adaptable nature.

Habitat: Sandy, gravelly slopes

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: 1100-3000 m

Bioregions: SNE

California counties: Mono, Mendocino

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