Discovered by Lewis and Clark along the Lolo Trail in northern Idaho, scarlet gilia
is native to the western United States and Canada. It prefers desert canyons and cliffs. montane meadows,
and subalpine rock fields.
Plants: At lower elevations, plants can reach 5′ (1.5 m) in height.
At higher elevations, plants typically don’t exceed 1′ (30 cm). Stems are tall and thin, emerging
in clumps. Most of the leaves are near the base.
Leaves: Described as “comblike” or “fernlike,” leaves are
basal, up
to 2″ (5 cm) long, and pinnate.
Flowers: Trumpet-shaped flowers may be white, red,
orange-red, pink, and, rarely, yellow. Each flower is ¾-1½″ (1.9-3.8 cm) long, and when viewed from the tip,
star-shaped. The “trumpet” is actually five fused flower petals.
The base of each flower is wrapped in five hairy green pointed bracts; they
darken to purple later.
They are pollinated by hummingbirds. They appear over much of the summer.