Gilia yorkii

Gilia yorkii is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names Boyden Cave gilia and monarch gilia. It is endemic to Fresno County, California, where it is known from only one location in the southern Sierra Nevada.[1] This plant grows in rock cracks in the limestone cliffs and outcrops in the chaparral and woodlands of the canyon.

Gilia yorkii

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Polemoniaceae
Genus: Gilia
Species:
G. yorkii
Binomial name
Gilia yorkii
Shevock & Day

Distribution

It was first discovered on July 31, 1995, near Boyden Cave in the Kings River Canyon, and described to science as a new species in 1998.[2][3] To date there are no other populations known.[1]

Description

This is an annual herb with a hairy, glandular stem up to 25 centimeters tall. The leaves are divided into smooth or toothed lobes, the largest leaves near the base of the plant measuring up to 2.5 centimeters long and the uppermost tiny and reduced. The inflorescence bears several flowers on threadlike, gland-studded pedicels. Each flower has a calyx of green sepals and white or pale blue or lavender tubular corolla just under a centimeter long. The pale color of the corolla helps the plant blend into the rocky surroundings, making it easy to miss.[1]

References
  1. The Nature Conservancy
  2. York, D. (2001). Discovering the endemic plants of Kings River Canyon. Fremontia 29:2 3.
  3. Shevock, J. R. and A. G. Day. (1998). A new Gilia (Polemoniaceae) from limestone outcrops in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. Madroño 45:137–140.


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