''Gilia capitata'' is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names blue-thimble-flower, bluehead gilia, blue field gilia, and globe gilia.

Distribution

It is native to much of western North America from

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

to northern Mexico, and it can be found on the eastern side of the continent as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

as it is used in

pollinator garden A pollinator garden is a type of garden designed with the intent of growing specific nectar and pollen-producing plants, in a way that attracts pollinating insects known as pollinators. Pollinators aid in the production of one out of every t ...

s. It grows in many habitats, especially in sandy or rocky soils.

Description

''Gilia capitata'' is an annual herb that is somewhat variable in appearance, with branching, leafy stems reaching anywhere from 10 to 90 centimeters in maximum height and sometimes having glandular hairs on the fleshy herbage. The leaves are divided into toothed or lobed leaflets. Atop the branches of the thick stem are spherical

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 ...

s of 50 to 100 small flowers. Each flower has a throat opening into a spreading corolla which may be white, pink, lavender, or light blue. 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 protrude slightly from the flower's mouth and are white with white, blue, or pink anthers. The plant attracts bees and butterflies.

Subspecies

There are several subspecies, including: *''G. c.'' ssp. ''abrotanifolia'' - native to

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 ...

and

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 ...

*''G. c.'' ssp. ''capitata'' - occurs throughout the range of the species *''G. c.'' ssp. ''chamissonis'' (dune gilia) - endemic to the sand dunes of California's central coast; bears bright blue-violet flowers *''G. c.'' ssp. ''mediomontana'' - native to the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

*''G. c.'' ssp. ''pacifica'' - grows along the coastline of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and California *''G. c.'' ssp. ''pedemontana'' - native to the Sierra Nevada foothills *''G. c.'' ssp. ''staminea'' - found in California and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

*''G. c.'' ssp. ''tomentosa'' - a rare subspecies known from a few occurrences just north of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Gilia capitata''''Gilia capitata'' - Photo gallery

capitata Capitata is a suborder of Hydrozoa, a class of marine invertebrates belonging to the phylum Cnidaria. Characteristics Members of this suborder are characterised by the tentacles of the polyps terminating in knobs. In some species these are onl ...

Flora of the Western United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of Alaska Flora of California Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Flora without expected TNC conservation status Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants {{Polemoniaceae-stub