[Illustration: Gilia longiflora
Gilia filifolia]
Common names: GILIA, STARFLOWER
Arizona desert: (_Gilia filifolia_). Lavender. April-May.
California desert: (_Gilia latifolia_). Pink-lavender. March-April.
Texas desert: (_Gilia longiflora_). Blue-lavender. April-October.
Phlox family. Size: 6 to 24 inches high.
Although the Gilias are not generally well known, they are common, quite
widely distributed throughout the Southwest, and their beauty deserves
wider recognition. There are a great many species (of which early
flowering _G. inconspicua_ is perhaps the commonest) at higher
elevations as well as throughout the desert. Many of these are worthy of
cultivation as ornamentals. Desert species, in general, are pale blue,
white, or lavender while those of the higher elevations are pink, coral,
or yellow to scarlet; although this is by no means a hard-and-fast rule.
Following winters of above-normal precipitation, desert species
sometimes produce such heavy stands that the flowers cover large areas
with a delicate pale blue or lavender carpet. Some species are
attractive to Hummingbirds.