Lilac Sunbonnet
Langloisia setosissima ssp. punctata
Photo by Lara Hartley
Color: White to light blue
Common name: Lilac Sunbonnet
Latin name: Langloisia setosissima ssp. punctata
Family: POLEMONIACEAE
Height: 1-6 inches
Description: Langloisia setosissima ssp. punctata is an evergreen; during spring it assumes a red-pink coloring. The funnel-shaped flower has 5 showy petals which are white to light blue with purple dots and generally two yellow spots in the middle of each. The flower lobes are almost the same length as the tube below. The development is erect growing both in height and in width, giving it its look of a rounded shrub.
Leaf: Leaves are simple but toothed at tips; each tooth has 1 bristle.
Range: East of Sierra Nevada, Mojave Desert
Habitat: Common. Desert washes, flats, slopes, gravelly to sandy soils
Elevation: < 1800 m.
Flowering time: Mar–Jun
Notes: Langloisia setosissima ssp. punctata, a dicot, is an annual herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. There are smaller-flowered populations in w ID, e OR. This photograph was created April 4, 2004 in the Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County, California.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
Mojave Desert Wildflowers - This book is the standard by which all other wildflower books are measured. The author, Jon Mark Stewart, has combined super photography with concise information. This book has an entire color page for each wildflower covered, with a discussion of the wildflower. 210 pages with 200 color photos. More...
What's Blooming Now - Check the Wildflower Reports
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