Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, Collomia

Collomia grandiflora and Collomia linearis are very similar in height, shape, and flower.

Thomas Nuttall, famed 19th century explorer, plant collector, and Harvard Professor of Botany, named the Collomia genus in 1818 from a specimen he collected in 1811 "near the banks of the Missouri, about the confluence of the Shian River, and in the vicinity of the Arikaree village". (Nuttall as quoted in Intermountain Flora). Nuttall named the new species Collomia linearis and he described it in his 1818 Genera of North American Plants.

"Collomia", from the Greek "colla", "glue", refers to the sticky seeds.

Collomia grandiflora
Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family)

Foothills. Woodlands, openings. Early summer.
Mesa Verde National Park, Geologic Overlook, June 5, 2001.

This delicate, tiny-flowered member of the Phlox family is easily passed by and not so easily identified when noticed. Its flowers range from white to peach to salmon and have the long tubes typical of Phlox family members such as Scarlet Gilia.

"Grandiflora" means, of course, "large flower"; perhaps this seemingly incongruous name for such a small flower was applied as a relative term, i.e., this flower is larger than the flower of Collomia linearis.

David Douglas, of Douglas Fir fame, first collected seeds from this plant "in the country bordering on the river Columbia" in 1828. (Douglas' words as quoted in Intermountain Flora.)

Collomia linearis
Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family)

Foothills, montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Spring, summer.
Priest Gulch Trail, June 29, 2005.

This cute beauty grows in small patches in openings and in Sagebrush, Oak brush, and Aspen woodlands. Its flowers are trumpet-shaped, about a half inch long and a quarter inch wide. Stems are reddish and leaves are alternate, somewhat longer at the top of the stem than at the bottom, and form a basket below the flowers.

This is the most widespread Collomia and is found in all Western states.

Collomia linearis
Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family)

Foothills, montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Spring, summer.
Narraguinnep Natural Area, May 28, 2004.

Collomia linearis
Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family)

Foothills, montane. Woodlands, meadows, openings. Spring, summer.
Priest Gulch Trail, June 29, 2005.