Linanthus filiformis

Yellow gilia

Family: Polemoniaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Yellow gilia is a native perennial found in the eastern Sierra Nevada and desert bioregions on open, rocky canyon slopes and washes at elevations of 300 to 2,800 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces delicate yellow flowers 4 to 7 millimeters long with distinctive oblong corolla lobes. Growing with thin, thread-like stems 5 to 15 centimeters tall, it has few to many glaucous branches and sparse, spreading cauline leaves. Its thread-like leaves measure 1 to 3 centimeters long and are generally entire, creating a delicate appearance. Seeds become gelatinous when wet, allowing the plant to thrive in challenging desert and canyon environments.

Habitat: Open, rocky canyon slopes, washes

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 300-2800 m

Bioregions: SNE, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Inyo, Mono, San Diego

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