Coyote gilia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Coyote gilia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Polemoniaceae
Genus:	Aliciella
Species:	A. triodon
Binomial name
Aliciella triodon (Eastw.) Brand
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The coyote gilia (scientific name: Aliciella triodon) is a small flowering plant. It used to be called Gilia triodon. This plant belongs to the phlox family.

It grows naturally in the desert areas of the American Southwest. You can find it from California all the way to New Mexico. It likes to live in desert places like scrublands and woodlands.

What is Coyote Gilia?

The coyote gilia is a small herb. It has a thin stem that can be a bit sticky. This stem usually grows to about 13 centimeters tall. That's about the length of a pen!

What Does it Look Like?

At the bottom of the plant, you'll find a group of leaves. These leaves are thick and have sharp, pointed edges. Each leaf can be up to 2 centimeters long. Sometimes, there are smaller, smooth leaves higher up on the stem.

Its Unique Flowers

The plant produces small flowers. They can grow alone or in a small cluster of two or three. Each flower is about 5 to 7 millimeters wide. That's smaller than a pea!

The flower has a very thin tube at its base. This tube opens up into a whitish, cup-shaped part called the corolla. A cool thing about these flowers is that each part of the corolla has three distinct teeth. This is how it gets its scientific name, triodon, which means "three teeth."