"Ipomopsis" means "similar to Ipomoea" (Morning Glories, one of which has a tubular red flower).

     The word "Gilia" is pronounced "Gee lee uh", because the plant was named for Italian clergyman and scientist, Filippo Luigi Gilii (gee lee ee).  (See biographical information.)

Click for more Ipomopsis tenuituba photographs.

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Spring, summer, fall.
Mesa Verde National Park, near entrance, May 16, 2001.

Scarlet Gilia is one of our most widely spread and common wild flowers, occurring from the lowest elevations to high mountains and blooming all summer. The finely cut green basal leaves are silver speckled with fine white hairs and are a common late summer and early spring sight. (See below).  Flowers range from fiery red to red/orange.  Early flower buds look similar to the Penstemon, Scarlet Bugler, another very common, long-blooming, bright red flower in our area.

The species name "aggregata", is from the Latin for "brought together", probably referring to the cluster of flowers.

Scarlet Gilia was first described by Frederick Pursh in 1814 from a specimen collected by Meriwether Lewis near the Missouri River on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.  Pursh called it Cantua aggregata and the plant has endured dozens of scientific name changes since then.

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Spring, summer, fall.
Roaring Fork Road, June 29, 2006.

Notice the stamens and anthers protruding beyond the throat of the flower.  This is one key factor distinguishing I. aggregata from I. tenuituba (see below).

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Spring, summer, fall.
Ryman Creek Trail, May 18, 2006.

The basal, green, finely cut leaves of Scarlet Gilia are a common sight from the Pinyon-Juniper forests to mountain meadows. The leaves over-winter so they, like the basal leaves of Pterogonum alatum (Winged Buckwheat), are familiar sights to many hikers.  A close inspection of Scarlet Gilia leaves will show glistening silvery hairs along the surface.

Semi-desert, foothills, montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Spring, summer, fall.
Mesa Verde National Park, June 3, 2004.

Montane, sub-alpine. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Summer, fall.
Shoulder of Abajo Peak, Utah, August 24, 2005.

I. tenuituba is very similar to I. aggregata and I was not aware of the differences until I received a very helpful email from Dieter Wilken of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.  Dieter indicates that the two plants differ in several key ways.  The following comparison is mostly in Dieter's words:

I. tenuituba has long, slender calyx lobes.
I. aggregata has shorter, tapering calyx lobes.

I. tenuituba has anthers within the tube, with no more than one anther in the throat or protruding from the throat. 
I. aggregata has 3-5 anthers in the throat or protruding beyond the throat.

This species was first collected by Edward Palmer (1831-1911) in Utah in 1877 and was named Gilia tenuituba by Per Axel Rydberg in 1913.  It was renamed  Ipomopsis tenuituba in 1956 by Gilia expert Verne Grant.

"Tenuituba" is Latin for "thin/slender/stretched tube".

Click for more Ipomopsis tenuituba photographs.

Montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Summer, fall.
Roaring Fork Road, June 29, 2006.

This is the first plant of its kind found in Montezuma County, Colorado -- and probably in all of Colorado and the Four Corners area.  I found many of these plants spread along a backcountry road from about 8,300-9,300 feet in elevation.  The plants have many of the characteristics of the above I. tenuituba plants, but there are several striking differences: the floral tubes of the plants pictured at left are much shorter, only about half the length of the flowers pictured above; the plants branch frequently from the base producing a bushy growth pattern; and the flower color --  cream and orange  --  is very uniform from plant to plant.  The short-tubed plants are quite uniform in their growth characteristics: basal rosettes are withered at flowering, plants are densely covered in glandular hairs and sparse silky hairs, leaves are light green, plants are 12-18 inches tall, and flower dimensions and color are uniform.

Montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Summer, fall.
Roaring Fork Road, June 29, 2006.

Filaments and style are buried deep in the floral tube: The five varying length filaments and the anthers  extend at most about half way up the floral tube and the style is even shorter.  Notice the protruding anthers in the pictures of I. aggregata at the top of this page.

Montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Summer, fall.
Roaring Fork Road, June 29, 2006.

The floral tube is just 15-17 millimeters long and about 2 millimeters wide at the base and 4 at the throat.

Compare this picture with the close-up three pictures above: the calyx lobes are the same in shape and the hairiness of both plants is evident.