Blue-thimble-flower facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Blue-thimble-flower
Scientific classification
Genus:	Gilia
Species:	capitata

Gilia capitata is a beautiful flowering plant. It belongs to the phlox family. People know it by many fun names like blue-thimble-flower, bluehead gilia, and globe gilia. This plant is famous for its round, blue flower clusters.

Where Does Bluehead Gilia Grow?

This plant naturally grows across a large part of western North America. You can find it from Alaska all the way down to northern Mexico. It also grows on the eastern side of the continent, but it was brought there by people. Bluehead gilia likes many different places to live. It especially loves sandy or rocky soils.

What Does Bluehead Gilia Look Like?

Bluehead gilia can look a bit different depending on where it grows. It has stems that branch out and are covered in leaves. These stems can grow from about 10 to 90 centimeters tall. Sometimes, the plant has tiny, sticky hairs on its soft parts.

Its leaves are divided into smaller parts. These smaller parts often have jagged edges or deep cuts. At the top of the thick stems, you'll see round clusters of flowers. These clusters are called inflorescences. Each cluster can have 50 to 100 tiny flowers!

Each small flower has a narrow opening that widens into a flat shape. The flowers can be white, pink, light purple, or light blue. Inside the flower, you'll see thin parts called stamens. These stamens stick out a little. They are white and have tips (called anthers) that can be white, blue, or pink.

Different Kinds of Bluehead Gilia

There are several types of Gilia capitata, called subspecies. They are all very similar but have small differences. These differences often depend on where they grow. Here are some of them:

• G. c. ssp. abrotanifolia - This type grows in California and Baja California.
• G. c. ssp. capitata - This is the most common type. You can find it almost everywhere the species grows.
• G. c. ssp. chamissonis (dune gilia) - This special type only grows in the sand dunes along California's central coast. It has bright blue-violet flowers.
• G. c. ssp. mediomontana - This one is found in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
• G. c. ssp. pacifica - You can see this type growing along the coastlines of Oregon and California.
• G. c. ssp. pedemontana - This type lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
• G. c. ssp. staminea - This subspecies grows in California and Arizona.
• G. c. ssp. tomentosa - This is a rare type. It's only found in a few spots just north of the San Francisco Bay Area.