Gilia capitata Sims
blue field gilia (bluehead gilia; globe gilia)
Polemoniaceae (Phlox family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Jim Riley     (Photo ID #65899)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Gilia capitata
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Gilia capitata var. capitata

Species Information

General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems erect, slender, simple or few-branched, hairless or glandular-hairy or obscurely white-woolly, 15-100 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves pinnately cleft, the lowermost 1 to 2 times pinnately cleft with slender axis and narrow ultimate segments 1-15 mm long, 1-2 mm wide; stem leaves similar to the basal, alternate, reduced upwards, the axils and midribs generally white-hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescences dense, ball-like clusters of 50 to 100 stalkless flowers, the clusters on long bractless stalks terminating the stem and branches; corollas pale blue, 6-10 mm long, the tube flaring to five linear-oblong (1 mm wide) lobes about as long as the tube; calyces expanded in fruit, the five lobes pointy-tipped.
Fruits:
Capsules, egg-shaped to spherical, with three 1- to 3-seeded chambers; seeds 1.5 mm long, becoming sticky when moistened.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat and Range

Dry, sandy, gravelly or rocky waste places in the lowland, steppe, and montane zones; rare in S BC, where probably introduced; WA and OR; S to N ID and CA; reported as introduced in AK and YT.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia