Gilia stenothyrsa
Author: Gray

Uinta Basin gilia



Polemoniaceae (phlox family)







Close up of Gilia stenothyrsa by Larry Allison.

Close up of Gilia stenothyrsa by Larry Allison.
Close up of Gilia stenothyrsa by Janis Huggins.

Taxonomic Comments

=Aliciella stenothyrsa. Ackerfield (2015) lists as Aliciella stenothyrsa (A. Gray) J.M. Porter ; Weber and Wittmann (2012) list as Gilia stenothyrsa Jones.

Ranks and Status

Global rank: G3
State rank: S1
Federal protection status: BLM Sensitive
State protection status: None

Description and Phenology

Please see 1997 profile.

General description: Unbranched, biennial plants with glandular stems, mostly 1.5 - 6 dm tall. Leaves deeply dissected. Cauline leaves reduces upward. Flowers white to pale cream, or pale purple, tubular corolla, 5-lobed. Stamens exserted at full anthesis, anthers rapidly dehiscing (Spackman et al. 1997, Ackerfield 2015).

Look Alikes: Gilia stenothyrsa is the only Gilia with cream-colored flowers (Spackman et al. 1997).

Phenology: Flowering occurs in late May to June (Ackerfield 2015); fruiting is from late June to early July (Anderson et al. 1982).

Habitat

Habitat of Gilia stenothyrsa by Peggy Lyon.

Silty to gravelly loam soils derived from the Green River or Uinta formations. In grassland, sagebrush, mountain-mahogany or pinyon-juniper communities (Spackman et al. 1997).  Areas with the Gilia are sparsely vegetated, with some of the following associated species: Artemisia frigida, A. wyomingensis, Asclepias cryptocerus, Astragalus lutosus, Atriplex confertifolia, Chaetopappa ericoides, Chorispora tenella, Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Cirsium barnebyi, Cryptantha stricta, Eriogonum lonchophyllum, Gilia congesta, Gutierrezia sarothrae, Ipomopsis aggregata, Lappula redowskii, Machaeranthera grindelioides, Mentzelia muticaulis, Oenothera caespitosa, Opuntia polyacantha, Achnatherum hymenoides, Penstemon caespitosa, Petradoria pumila, Phlox hoodii, Phlox longifolia, Physaria acutifolia, Pseudoroegneria spicata, Sabina osteosperma, Senecio neomexicana, Streptanthus cordatus, and Tetradymia canescens.

Elevation Range: 4,823 - 6,391 feet (1,470 - 1,948 meters)

Distribution

Colorado endemic: No
Global range: Known from Mesa and Rio Blanco counties, Colorado (Ackerfield 2015), and in Carbon, Duchesne, Emery and Uintah counties, Utah (Welsh et al. 2003).
State range: Known from Rio Blanco and Mesa counties in Colorado. Estimated range in Colorado is 676 square kilometers (261 square miles), calculated in 2008 by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program in GIS by drawing a minimum convex polygon around the known occurrences. 
Distribution of Gilia stenothyrsa in Colorado according to mapped land ownership/management boundaries (CNHP 2015, COMaP v9).

Distribution of Gilia stenothyrsa in Colorado.

Threats and Management Issues

The primary threat at this time is considered to be oil and gas development. It is not known if all of the occurrences are or are not threatened by these activities. Two of the areas are threatened by sheep grazing. Another area is threatened by its proximity to a 4-wheel drive road.

References

    • Ackerfield, J. 2015. Flora of Colorado. Brit Press, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, TX. 818 pp.
    • Anderson, J.S. and W.L. Baker. 1982. Inventory of the Piceance basin. Vol. I: Final report.
    • Cronquist, A., A.H. Holmgren, N.H. Holmgren, J.L. Reveal, and P.K. Holmgren. 1984. Intermountain Flora: Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A. Vol. 4, Subclass Asteridae (except Asteraceae). New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. 573 pp.
    • Goodrich, S., and E. Neese. 1986. Uinta Basin flora. U.S. Forest Service, Intermountain Region, Ogden, Utah. 320 pp.
    • Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
    • Spackman, S., B. Jennings, J. Coles, C. Dawson, M. Minton, A. Kratz, and C. Spurrier. (Web authors: Johnson, C.S. and M. Barry). 1999. Colorado rare plant field guide. Prepared for Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by Colorado Natural Heritage Program. Online. Available: http://www.cnhp.colostate.edu/rareplants/cover.html (Accessed 2006)
    • Spackman, S., B. Jennings, J. Coles, C. Dawson, M. Minton, A. Kratz, and C. Spurrier. 1997. Colorado rare plant field guide. Prepared for Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by Colorado Natural Heritage Program.
    • The Colorado Native Plant Society. 1997. Rare Plants of Colorado, second edition. Falcon Press Publishing Co.,Inc. Helena, Montana. 105pp.
    • USDA, NRCS. 2015. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
    • Weber, W. A. and R. C. Wittmann. 2012. Colorado Flora, Western Slope, A Field Guide to the Vascular Plants, Fourth Edition. Boulder, Colorado. 532 pp.
    • Weber, W.A., and R.C. Wittmann. 1996b. Colorado flora: Western slope. Univ. Press of Colorado, Niwot, Colorado. 496 pp.
    • Welsh, S.L., N.D. Atwood, S. Goodrich and L.C. Higgins. (Eds.) 2003. A Utah Flora. 3rd edition. Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, U.S.A. 912 pp.
    • Welsh, S.L., N.D. Atwood, S. Goodrich, and L.C. Higgins (eds.) 1993. A Utah flora. 2nd edition. Brigham Young Univ., Provo, Utah. 986 pp.

Last Updated

2015-06-16