PLANT: Short-lived perennial, 35-100 cm tall, simple to branched at base; stems often woody at base, short glandular above, short pilose below.

LEAVES: subglabrous to sparsely glandular, deeply lobed.

INFLORESCENCE: one-sided, with subsessile to short-pedicelled flowers on lateral branches.

FLOWER: calyx 6-10 mm long, short-glandular pubescent, the lobes attenuate; corolla lavender to bluish purple, the tube 35-50 mm long, the throat 4-6 mm wide, the lobes ovate to obovate, acuminate to apiculate; stamens inserted unequally on the tube; filaments unequal; anthers exserted; stigma slightly exserted.

CAPSULE: 8-10 mm long; seeds 5-9 per locule. 2n=14.

NOTES: Sandy to rocky soils, desert shrublands, woodlands, coniferous forest; Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz cos.; 1220-2440 m (4000-8000 ft); Aug-Oct; AZ to TX, n Mex.

REFERENCES: Dieter H. Wilken and J. Mark Porter, 2005, Vascular Plants of Arizona: Polemoniaceae. CANOTIA 1: 1-37.

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Herbaceous biennials to perennials, 35-100 cm tall, stems simple to branching at the base, stems often woody at base, herbage short glandular above, short pilose below.

Leaves: Opposite, sessile, margins deeply lobed, appearing filiform, surfaces subglabrous to sparsely glandular.

Flowers: Big, showy, lavender to bluish purple, corolla tube 35-50 mm long, throat 4-6 mm wide, lobes ovate to obovate, acuminate to apiculate at the tips, calyx 6-10 mm long, short-glandular pubescent, the lobes attenuate, stamens well exserted, inserted unequally on the tube, filaments unequal, elongate, stigmas slightly exserted, style short-pilose, inflorescences one-sided, with subsessile to short-pedicelled flowers on lateral branches.

Fruits: Capsules 8-10 mm long. Seeds 5-9 per locule.

Ecology: Found on sandy to rocky soils, in canyons and on open slopes, in desert shrublands, woodlands, and coniferous forest from 4,000-8,000 ft (1219-2438 m); flowering August-October.

Distribution: Arizona, Texas, New Mexico.

Notes: Look for this species under the basionym Gilia thurberi in older texts. The long-throated bluish-purple flowers with exserted stamens and deeply lobed, almost filiform leaves are good indicators for this species. This species differs from the similar I. macombii in that I. thurberi has a short-pilose style and well exserted stamens, and I. macombii has a glabrous style and not or only slightly exserted stamens.

Ethnobotany: There is no use recorded for this species, but other species in this genus have uses.

Synonyms: None

Editor: LCrumbacher 2012

Etymology: Ipomopsis comes from the Greek ipo, "to strike," and opsis, "appearance," thus of striking appearance, while thurberi is named after Dr. George Thurber (1821-1890), called the most accomplished horticulturist in America, and botanist and quartermaster of the Mexican Boundary Survey, 1850-1854.