Semi-desert.  Shrublands, openings.  Spring, summer.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, June 6, 2005.

Ipomopsis longiflora is hard to spot because its stems, leaves, and flowers are so very slender, because its flowers are very light blue to white, and because it is relatively uncommon, far less common than the almost ubiquitous Ipomopsis aggregata.  Leaves are similar to those of Ipomopsis aggregata but basal leaves are wilted by flowering time and flowers are far fewer.  Ipomopsis longiflora prefers open, sandy soils at lower elevations.

The plant was first collected by Edwin James in the 1820s and was named Cantua longiflora by Torrey in 1827.  Georg Don renamed it Gilia longiflora in 1837 and 20th century Gilia expert, Verne Grant, renamed it Ipomopsis longiflora in 1956.   "Ipomopsis" means "similar to Ipomoea", Morning Glories, one of which has a tubular red flower.

Semi-desert.  Shrublands, openings.  Spring, summer.
Squaw Creek Trail, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, September 10, 2005.

Flowers range from light blue/lavender to white and from one-to-over-two inches long.  The flowers pictured are nearly three inches long.

Semi-desert.  Shrublands, openings.  Spring, summer.
Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area, New Mexico, March 27, 2006.

Delicate beauty of winter's dried involucre.  In the center of the picture above, the involucre is green with light lines through it.

Montane.  Meadows, roadsides. Summer.
Pagosa Springs, June 25, 2007.

Ipomopsis polyantha is found only in Pagosa Springs, Colorado and most populations are on private land.  It is a very threatened species.  It often grows in very large numbers, commonly on disturbed lands.  Plants have many flowers, a raggedy appearance from a distance, and a peculiarly strong smell.  Leaves are characteristics of a number of members of the Ipomopsis genus.

Per Axel Rydberg named this plant Gilia polyantha and Verne Grant renamed it Ipomopsis polyantha.

Ipomopsis polyantha (Pagosa Skyrocket)
Polemoniaceae (Phlox Family)

Montane.  Meadows, roadsides. Summer.
Pagosa Springs, June 25, 2007.