Synonyms: Gilia congesta Hook.; Gilia frutescens Rydb.; Ipomopsis frutescens (Rydb.) V. Grant

Distribution: For the species as a whole: Oregon to western North Dakota and south from southern California to Colorado and western Nebraska (Cronquist et al. 1984); var. frutescens: central Utah and adjacent Arizona and Colorado (Cronquist et al. 1984); Arizona, Colorado, Utah (Garfield, Kane, San Juan, and Washington counties) (Welsh et al 1993); var. crebrifolia: southwestern Montana and western Wyoming south to New Mexico (San Juan and Sandoval counties), Utah (Beaver, Millard, San Juan, and Summit counties) (Cronquist et al. 1984); Montana and Wyoming south to Utah (Beaver, Millard, Rich, San Juan, Sevier, and Summit counties) and New Mexico (Welsh et al. 1993).

Habitat: For the species as a whole: dry, open places, from the plains and foothills to high altitude in the mountains (Cronquist et al. 1984); var. frutescens: [in Utah] wide variety of habitats from sandy desertscrub through ponderosa pine communities, 1155-2290 m (3800-7500 ft) (Welsh et al. 1993); var. crebrifolia: [in Utah] wide range of habitats from sagebrush through bristlecone pine communities, 1830-2780 m (6000-9100 ft) (Welsh et al 1993).

Plants Seen or Cited: Apparently no records in the New Mexico Natural Heritage Program Database. All specimens of I. congesta at UNM from New Mexico are var. crebrifolia.

1. H. Hastings. Sn. 25 May 1940. San Juan county, NM. Hill southeast from grade school, Aztec.

2. Fletcher. No. 5979. 11 May 1982. San Juan county, NM. Northeast of Farmington with some gypsum.

3. Knight. No. 2173. 24 Jun 1982. San Juan county, NM. Los Pinos River valley, just south of Colorado border in pinyon-juniper.

4. Spellenberg. No. 7789. 4 June 1984. Sandoval county, NM. 22 miles northwest of San Ysidro on NM-44 at mile post 46, south-facing powdery clay roadbank, [forming] dominant vegetation, 100s of plants, seen only here, with Juniperus monosperma. Corolla cream.

Discussion: The species on the whole is common and widespread within its range. "Gilia congesta is divisible, with some difficulty, into seven ecogeographically significant but wholly confluent varieties " (Cronquist et al. 1984). Welsh et al (1993) say that "four rather clearly definable but partially confluent varieties are present in Utah." Both Cronquist et al. (1984) and Welsh et al. (1993) agree that var. frutescens does not occur in New Mexico and that var. crebrifolia is present in this state (see above). The former is present in San Juan County, Utah, but most likely in the western part nearer Kane and Garfield counties. The latter is represented at UNM by the specimens cited above. Whether var. frutescens grows in New Mexico or not, neither Welsh et al. (1993) nor Cronquist et al. (1984) suggest that it is rare.

Recommendation: Place on L4 (Probably not present in New Mexico and apparently common in its range elsewhere).

Important Literature:

Constance. L. and R.C. Rollins. 1936. A revision of Gilia congesta and its allies. Amer. J. Bot. 23:433-440.

Cronquist, A., A.H. Holmgren, N.H. Holmgren, J.L. Reveal, and P.K. Holmgren. 1984. Intermountain Flora, Volume Four. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY. (pages 127-129 with illustrations)

Day, A.G. 1980. Nomenclatural changes in Ipomopsis congesta (Polemoniaceae). Madroño 27:111-112.

Welsh, S.L., N.D. Atwood, S. Goodrich, and L.C. Higgins. 1993. A Utah flora, Second edition, revised. Jones Endowment Fund, Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT. (pages 520-521)

Information Compiled By: David L. Bleakly, 1998