''Saltugilia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of flowering plants in the phlox family,

Polemoniaceae The Polemoniaceae (Jacob's-ladder or phlox family) are a family of flowering plants consisting of about 27 genera with 270–400 species of annuals and perennials native to the Northern Hemisphere and South America, with the center of diversity ...

. They are known commonly as woodland gilias.Porter, J. M. and L. A. Johnson. (2000)
A phylogenetic classification of Polemoniaceae.
''Aliso'' 19(1) 55-91. There are four species. Two are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in the United States, and the distributions of the other two extend into

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

in Mexico. This genus was erected in the year 2000 to segregate three species from the genus ''

Gilia ''Gilia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Polemoniaceae family and is related to phlox. It includes 39 species native to the Americas, ranging from British Columbia to Texas and northern Mexico, and to Ohio, in North America, and from Ecua ...

'' on the basis of phylogenetic evidence. Analysis of

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

was used in the formation of the new taxon, and studies of other characteristics of the plants, such as morphological,

palynological Palynology is the study of microorganisms and microscopic fragments of mega-organisms that are composed of acid-resistant organic material and occur in sediments, sedimentary rocks, and even some metasedimentary rocks. Palynomorphs are the mic ...

, and

ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

traits, were considered. ''Saltugilia'' was a

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

of genus ''Gilia''. These three species were classified in the new genus ''Saltugilia'', and the fourth was newly described to science in 2001.Weese, T. L. and L. A. Johnson. (2011)
''Saltugilia latimeri'': A new species of Polemoniaceae.
''Madroño'' 48(3) 198-204.

Description

These plants are annual herbs producing solitary, branching stems 15 to 100 centimeters tall. Most of the leaves are arranged in a basal rosette around the stem. Most of the herbage is coated with

trichome Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

s tipped with glands. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is an open array of branches bearing single and paired flowers. The funnel-shaped corollas are pink, lavender, blue, or white, with yellow spotting in the throat. The

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s bear blue

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

Diversity

*The southern gilia, '' Saltugilia australis'', formerly ''Gilia australis'', is a plant of the

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...

of southern California. It is also known from Baja California. The flower corollas have white tubes and pink or blue lobes.''S. australis''.
The Jepson Herbarium. *The caraway-leaved woodland gilia, '' Saltugilia caruifolia'', formerly ''G. caruifolia'', grows in chaparral and forest habitat in southern California and Baja California. The flowers are purple, sometimes with white throats.''S. caruifolia''.
The Jepson Herbarium. *Latimer's woodland gilia, '' Saltugilia latimeri'', was separated from ''S. australis''. It is a California endemic limited mainly to

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

and Riverside Counties. The corollas are purple with pink lobes. It grows in the desert.''S. latimeri''.
The Jepson Herbarium. *The splendid woodland gilia, '' Saltugilia splendens'',''S. splendens''.
The Jepson Herbarium. formerly ''Gilia splendens'', is also known as ''S. grinnellii'', which may be the technically correct name because it was established first. It is endemic to the mountain ranges of southern California. There are two subspecies, ssp. ''grantii'' and ssp. ''splendens''. This species has the largest flowers of the four, up to 3.6 centimeters in ssp. ''grantii''.''S. splendens'' ssp. ''grantii''.
The Jepson Herbarium.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6117578 Polemoniaceae Polemoniaceae genera Flora of Baja California Flora of California