1 Leaves entire
2 Plants annual
3 Flowers on capillary pedicels that are widely spreading to deflexed Gilia
3 Flowers almost subsessile, pedicels very short and quite thick
4 Leaves ± opposite Microsteris
4 Leaves alternate
5 Sepals 1.5-3 mm long in flower; corolla 8-15 mm long Collomia
5 Sepals 3.5-6; corolla 5-8 mm long Ipomopsis
2 Plants perennial Phlox
1 Leaves serrate, dentate, pinnate or palmate
6 Leaves palmate, sessile; lobes pungent; subshrub Leptodactylon
6 Leaves and plant in no respects as above
7 Plants annual
8 Plants with well developed leaves in the inflorescence Ipomopsis
8 Plants with the inflorescence leafless Gilia
7 Plants perennial
9 Flowers blue-violet Polemonium
9 Flowers scarlet or white Ipomopsis
COLLOMIA
Collomia linearis Nutt.
NARROW LEAF COLLOMIA. Frequent, below 9500 ft.; openings in sagebrush, lightly shaded places. May-Aug. !Burnt Mill Canyon T13N R69E S6, * Timber Creek 738 643 43 17 067.
GILIA
Note: Since the group of plants from section Arachnion are by in large self pollinated, one would think that they would remain fairly consistent in how they look. However there are a large number of plants throughout their range that don’t conform to the named taxa. This author suspects that at various times they may outcross, thus creating numerous plants that don’t fit in any described taxon. Often plants from one area don’t look like plants from some other area, even though they seem to key out to the same taxon.
1 Lobes of corolla 3-dentate G. triodon
1 Lobes of corolla not as above
2 Herbage bearing some cobwebby hairs, sometimes limited to the leaf axils
3 Lower stems ± glaucous; leaf lobes not much longer than the rachis is wide G. sinuata
3 Lower stems not glaucous; leaf lobes usually longer than the rachis is wide
4 Calyx glandular pubescent; corolla lobes purple spotted at base G. inconspicua
4 Calyx glabrous; corolla lobes not purple spotted at base G. ophthalmoides
2 Plants lacking cobwebby hair
4 Herbage collecting sand grains because it if very glandular G. hutchinsifolia
4 Herbage not as above
6 Leaves essentially entire; pollen yellow; corolla lobes entire G. tenerrima
6 Leaves dentate; pollen white; corolla lobes mucronate
7 Plants on the larger side; corolla generally 3-7 mm long; calyx 2-3 mm long G. leptomeria
7 Plants on the small side; corolla generally 2-3.5 mm long; calyx 1-2.5 mm long G. micromeria
Gilia hutchinsifolia Rydb.
HUTCHINS' GILIA. Frequent, below 6800 ft.; sandy or gravelly slopes and flats. May-Jun. *Spring Valley T13N R67E S10, *Big Wash T12N R70E S27.
Gilia inconspicua (Sm.) Sweet
INCONSPICIOUS GILIA. Infrequent, below 7500 ft.; sandy to gravelly slopes and flats. May-Jun. *Spring Valley T13N R67E S10, Strawberry Creek 7360 Raymond Jaindl, †Snake Creek 748 501 43 11 559.
Gilia leptomeria A. Gray
GREAT BASIN GILIA. Infrequent, below 6800 ft.; sandy places. May-Jun. *Hamlin Valley T10N R70E S13.
Gilia micromeria A. Gray
DAINTY GILIA. Limited, 5718 ft.; alkaline valley floors, often under shrubs. May-Jun. †Spring Valley 719 520E 43 26 915N Clifton 44015.
Gilia ophthalmoides Brand
EYELIKE GILIA. Fairly frequent, below 8000 ft.; rocky and gravelly slopes. May. †Highway 894 726 265E 43 04 952N Clifton 43932, *Snake Creek 747 836E 43 11 433N Clifton 43998.
Gilia sinuata Benth.
SINUATE GILIA. Infrequent, below 7000 ft.; sandy places. May-June. *Spring Valley T13N R67E S10
Gilia tenerrima
DELICATE GILIA. Frequent, below 9,000 ft.; openings in sagebrush. Jun-Aug. Baker Creek 38 59' 09.7 114 14' 59.2", !Lehman Creek 11 07 36 507E 43 21 711N, !Burnt Mill Canyon 11 07 37 094E 43 23 386N.
Gilia triodon Eastw.
COYOTE GILIA. Fairly frequent, below 6500 ft.; open sandy places. May-Jun. *Highway 894 726 265E 43 04 952N Clifton 43939.
IPOMOPSIS
(Gilia)
1 Plants annual; style short
2 Filaments of the stamens not any longer than the anthers; leaves all toothed I. polycladon
2 Filaments of the stamens quite a bit longer than the anthers; leaves mostly entire and sharp-pointed I. depressa
1 Plants biennial or perennial; style elongated
3 Flowers bright red to pinkish and in an open inflorescence
4 Flowers fairly to bright red; tub over 4 mm wide at the apex I. aggregata
4 Flowers pale pink; tub about 3 mm wide at apex I. tenuituba
3 Flowers white and in capitate heads I. congesta
Ipomopsis aggregata (Pursh.) V. Grant
var. aggregata
SCARLET GILIA, SKY ROCKET. Fairly frequent, below 10300 ft.; openings in sagebrush, rocky slopes. This taxon is extremely variable with many forms. These forms most likely can not be named because they seem to appear almost any where throughout the range of the species. May-Sep. !Mill Creek T13N R69E S6 North Fork Baker Creek 34 626E 17 448N, *Snake Creek 6360 ft. Fred Landau 34, Snake Creek 11 0744 300E 43 10 700N Clifton 41036.
Ipomopsis congesta Hook.
a Leaves divided
b Plants not real compact; leaf 5-7-lobed var. palmifrons
b Plants quite compact; leaf 3-lobed var. montana
a Leaves entire var. crebrifolia
var. crebrifolia (Nutt.) A. Gray
SIMPLE-LEAVED BALL-HEADED IPOMOPSIS. Infrequent, 6400-10300 ft.; limestone outcrops, gravelly slopes. May-early Jul. *South Fork Big Wash T12N R69E S26, †between Murphy Wash and Johns Wash 732 287E 42 87 868N Clifton 43961, Granite Peak 737 370E 43 03 318N Clifton 45237.
var. montana (Nels. & Kenn.) Const. & Roll.
ALPINE BALL-HEADED IPOMOPSIS. Infrequent, above 10500 ft.; open alpine ridge tops. This and the next taxon pass into one another. Jul-Aug. *Mount Washington T12N R68E S11, Big Wash Peak 738 529E 43 06 899N Clifton 45258
var. palmifrons (A. Brand.) Cronq.
PALMATELY-LEAVED BALL-HEADED IPOMOPSIS. Infrequent, below 10700 ft.; open gravelly places, scree slopes. The plants on the upper reaches of Pole Canyon are compact have the basal leaves 3-lobed and the upper 5-lobed and others have the leaves all 5-7-lobed. May-Sep. *Grub Gulch T14N R68E S5, !Grub Gulch T14N R68E S7,Pole Canyon 740 199E 43 14 353N, Big Canyon 741928E 4351790 (NAD 83) Clifton 47154.
Ipomopsis depressa M.E. Jones
SHORT IPOMOPSIS. Infrequent, below 5700 ft.; sandy valley floors. May-Jun. *Hamlin Valley T10N R70E S13, †Snake Creek 753 533 43 12 382.
Ipomopsis tenuituba (Rydb.) V. Grant
var. tenuituba
SLIM-TUBBED SKYROCKET. Infrequent, mostly above 8200 ft.; rocky slopes that are open to lightly wooded. I. macrosiphon is apparently limited to Arizona and New Mexico. Late Jun-Jul. Dacathon Canyon 736 405E 43 01 820N Clifton 45252, Chalk Spring 738190E 435800N, Head of Water Canyon 736658E 4355559N (NAD 83) Clifton 47183.
Ipomopsis polycladon (Torr.) V. Grant
SPREADING IPOMOPSIS. Infrequent, below 6500 ft. dry sandy or gravelly flats. May-Jun.*Hamlin Valley T10N R70W S13.
LEPTODACTYLON
1 Plants forming dense mats on the ground L. caespitosum
1 Plants essentially erect, not forming mats L. pungens
Leptodactylon caespitosum Nutt.
MATTED PRICKLY-PHLOX. Limited, about 6480 ft.; barren calcareous tufa. May-Jul. †Red Ledges 736 832E 42 84 395 Clifton 43975.
Leptodactylon pungens (Torr.) Rydb.
GRANITE PRICKLY-PHLOX. Fairly frequent, below 11000 ft.; openings in sagebrush, sandy to rocky places. May-Aug. !Baker Creek T13N R69E S14, *Weaver Creek 6430 ft. Raymond Jaindl., †Highway 745 247E 43 27 439N Clifton 44004.
MICROSTERIS
Microsteris gracilis (Hook.) E. Greene
var. humilior (Hook.) Cronq.
FALSE PHLOX. Frequent, below 10100 ft.; dry, open places. Apr-Jun. *Snake Creek T12N R69E S8, !Buck Mountain T13N R68E S1.
PHLOX
1 Plants open, the internodes apparent P. longifolia complex
1 Plants compact, internodes obscure
2 Plants in vernally moist saline meadows P. kelseyi
2 Plants of dry places
3 Intercostal membrane very prominent, with no hairs covering it, when dry it has a center fold P. austromontana
3 Intercostal membrane not prominent, either partly cover to completely covered by hairs, lacking a center fold
4 The membrane of calyx covered with long woolly hair P. hoodii
4 The membrane lacking long woolly hair
5 The leaves curved outward looking like hooks P. griseola
5 The leaves hardly curved
6 Calyx most often bearing glandular hairs
7 Inner surface of corolla tube bearing a small band of hairs just up from the base; forming mats P. pulvinata
7 Inner surface of corolla tube lacking a small band of hairs; plants forming mounds P. condensata
6 Calyx bearing all eglandular hairs P. muscoides
Phlox austromontana Cov.
DESERT or WESTERN MOUNTAIN PHLOX. Frequent, 6000-9000 ft.; dry open stony or gravelly slopes, washes. May-Jul. *Big Wash T12N R70E S27, †between Johns Wash & Big Springs Wash 739 547E 42 87 890N Clifton 43970.
Phlox griseola Wherry
GRAY-LEAVED PHLOX. In frequent, below 7000 ft.; rocky slopes, barrens on valley floors. The type locality is Spring Valley. May. †Red Ledges 736 389E 42 83 270 Clifton 43978.
Phlox hoodii Richards.
var. canescens (T. & G.) Peck
CARPET PHLOX. Frequent, below 8000 ft.; open gravelly slopes and flats. May-Jun. *Murphy Wash T10N R68E S9,
Phlox kelseyi Britt.
var. salina (M. E. Jones) G. Clifton comb. nov.
SALT MARSH PHLOX. Limited, 5660-5760 ft.; moist subalkaline meadow. May. *†Highway 50 722 741E 43 35 232N Clifton 44012, †Spring Valley 722585E 4301215N Clifton 45647.
Phlox muscoides Nutt.
MOSS PHLOX. Infrequent, 5600-8000 ft.; barren gravelly slopes. Some workers are making this a variety of P. hoodii, but this author sees no reason to do so. This whole genus will be played with for years to come, moving plants from one species to another. May-Jun. *Johns Wash T10N R69E S30. [P. bryoides Nutt., P. hoodii Richards ssp. m. (Nutt.) Wherry].
Phlox pulvinata (Wherry) Cronq.
CUSHION PHLOX. Frequent, 7000-12000 ft.; open rocky slopes. May-Aug. *above Johnson Lake T13N R68E S36, †Highland Ridge 11 07 34 750E 32 06 771N, !Wheeler Peak 11 07 31 696E 43 19 755N.[P. caespitosa Nutt. ssp. p. Wherry].
Phlox longifolia complex
STANSBURY'S or INCH-TUB PHLOX. Frequent, below 8500 ft.; open, often rocky places. There is no way to separate this group of plants into different taxa. There are plants from the Ivanpah Road in San Bernardino County in California that have the tube of the corolla not much longer than the calyx and the leaves short and spreading. There are plants from Mohave County in Arizona that have very long corolla tubes and long ascending leaves. There are plants in Mohave County in Arizona that have the corolla tube twice as long as the calyx and the leaves are short and ascending. This doesn’t even take in to consideration the differences in pubescence. Mid April-Jun. *between Big Wash and Snake Creek T12N R70E S12, !Burnt Mill Canyon T13N R69N S6, Chalk Spring 738190E 435800N (NAD 83). [P. longifolia Nutt. var. stansburyi (Torr.) A. Gray].
POLEMONIUM
1 Leaflets simple, smells only slightly mephitic P. pulcherrimum
1 Leaflets deeply cut, smells very strongly mephitic P. viscosum
Polemonium pulcherrimum Hook.
var. delicatum (Rydb.) Cronq.
SHOWY POLEMONIUM, SHORT JACOB’S LADDER. Fairly frequent, 9000-11000 ft.; cliff crevices, rocky slopes. Jun-Aug. *Johnson Lake T13N R68E S36, !Stella Lake T13N R69E S11.
Polemonium viscosum Nutt.
SKY PILOT. Fairly frequent, 9000-12000 ft.; cliff crevices, rocky slopes Jun-Aug. *above Stella Lake T13N R68E S11, !Wheeler Peak 731696E 4319755N, The Table 742249E 4351786 (NAD 83) Clifton 47163.
