Saltugilia australis (syn. Gilia australis) is a species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common name southern gilia.[1]

Saltugilia australis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Polemoniaceae
Genus: Saltugilia
Species:
S. australis
Binomial name
Saltugilia australis
(H. Mason & A.D. Grant) L.A. Johnson
Synonyms

Gilia australis

It is endemic to southern California, where it grows in sandy habitat in the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and Mojave Desert mountains.

Description edit

Saltugilia australis is an herb that produces a very thin, erect stem up to 45 centimetres (18 in) tall, surrounded at the base by a rosette of leaves with blades divided into lobed segments.

The glandular inflorescence produces tiny flowers with green sepals sometimes dotted with purple and ribbed with membranous tissue between the ribs. The corolla is up to 1 centimetre (0.39 in) long and white to lavender in color with yellow in the throat.

References edit

  1. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Saltugilia australis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 28 October 2015.

External links edit

  Media related to Saltugilia australis at Wikimedia Commons