POLEMONIACEAE

PHLOX FAMILY

Robert W. Patterson, Family Editor

Annual, perennial herb, shrub, vine
Leaves simple or compound, cauline (or most in basal rosette), alternate or opposite; stipules 0
Inflorescence: cymes, heads, or flowers solitary
Flower: calyx generally 5-ribbed, ribs often connected by translucent membranes that are generally torn by growing fruit; corolla generally 5-lobed, radial or bilateral, salverform to bell-shaped, throat often well defined; stamens generally 5, epipetalous, attached at same or different levels, filaments of same or different lengths, pollen white, yellow, blue, or red; ovary superior, chambers generally 3, style 1, stigmas generally 3
Fruit: capsule
Seeds 1–many, gelatinous or not when wet
Genera in family: 19 genera, 320 species: Am, n Eur, n Asia; some cultivated (Cantua, Cobaea (cup-and-saucer vine), Collomia, Gilia, Ipomopsis, Linanthus, Phlox )
Recent taxonomic note: *See also revised taxonomy of Porter and Johnson 2000 Aliso 19(1):55–91; Porter 1998 Aliso 17:83–85
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GILIA

Alva G. Day

Annual, perennial herb, generally erect
Stem glabrous, hairy, glandular, or cobwebby
Leaves simple, generally alternate; basal generally in rosette, toothed, pinnately lobed, or entire; cauline generally reduced; leaf tips, calyx lobes acute, acuminate, or needle-like
Inflorescence: flowers solitary or clustered, 1–many in axils of bracts
Flower: calyx membranous between ribs, membrane splitting or expanding; corolla > calyx, lobes generally ovate
Fruit generally ovoid; chambers 3, valves separating from top
Seeds 3–many, brown, generally gelatinous when wet
Species in genus: ± 70 species: w North America, South America
Etymology: (Felipe Gil, 18th century Spanish botanist)

Native

G. cana (M.E. Jones) A. Heller

Plant sometimes with skunk-like odor
Stem: 9–32 cm, branches 1–several from base, cobwebby near base, generally glandular above
Leaves: basal in rosette, 1–2-pinnate, cobwebby; axis < 3 mm wide; lobes generally ascending, toothed on both sides, teeth short-pointed or acuminate
Inflorescence spreading, showy; flowers many
Flower: calyx gland-dotted, lobes acute to acuminate; corolla tube purple, throat bluish in upper half, yellow below, lobes pink; stamens exserted, to below middle of corolla lobes; style > stamens
Fruit < calyx, ovoid to spheric; valves detaching
Ecology: Open, gravelly or sandy flats or washes
Elevation: 800–3100 m.
Bioregional distribution: San Bernardino Mountains, e slope s High Sierra Nevada, White and Inyo Mountains, Mojave Desert
Distribution outside California: sw Nevada; Arizona
Horticultural information: TRY.

Native

subsp. speciosa (Jeps.) A.D. Grant & V.E. Grant

Leaves: basal 2–4 cm, densely cobwebby
Inflorescence: flowers 4–8 per bract; pedicels slender, spreading, unequal, nearly glabrous
Flower: calyx glabrous or glandular; corolla 20–32 mm, tube 3–4 X throat, throat short, narrow, lobes 4–9 mm wide; stamens equal, exserted to base of lobes
Fruit 5–9 mm
Seeds 10–20 per chamber
Chromosomes: 2n=18
Ecology: Habitat of sp.
Elevation: 200–1200 m.
Bioregional distribution: e slope s High Sierra Nevada, w edge Mojave Desert
Flowering time: Apr–May
Locally abundant. Intergrades with subsp. cana.