Gilia incisa Benth., cutleaf gilia, splitleaf gilia. Annual, taprooted, not rosetted, 1—2–stemmed at base, with ascending lateral branches in canopy, in range 15—35+ cm tall; shoots with mostly cauline leaves, having short, stalked glandular hairs on the lower plants aging to resemble nonglandular hairs.
Stems cylindric, to 2 mm diameter, green.
Leaves helically alternate, simple and sharply serrate (lower leaves) to pinnaately lobed in canopy, petiolate and short–petiolate (upper cauline leaves), without stipules; petiole of lower leaves channeled, to 12 mm long; blade ovate to obovate in outline, < 10—30+ × < 5—15 mm, tapered at base or having short, awl–like lobes at base, triangular to ovate teeth on margins, acute with stiff point at tip, pinnately veined with midrib and sometimes other principal veins on lower surface, uniformly glandular–hairy with hairs to 0.25 mm long.
Inflorescence open cyme, terminal and axillary, several–flowered, bracteate, glandular–hairy; bract subtending peduncle and bractlet subtending pedicle leaflike, pinnately 5–lobed to 7–lobed often appearing palmately lobed with terminal lobe > lateral lobes > basal lobes, petiole subsessile, bractlet to 10 mm long; pedicel cylindric, 16—35 × 0.3 mm, green, densely glandular–hairy.
Flower bisexual, radial, ± 10 mm across; calyx 5–lobed, ca. 4.5 mm long; tube cup–shaped, 1.2—1.5 mm long; lobes triangular, 2.5—3 × 1 mm, with raised green ribs and wide membranous margins, having some glandular hairs on rib; corolla 5–lobed, lobes twisted in bud; tube + throat short–cylindric, 1—1.3 mm long, mostly light yellow; lobes overlapping at base, widely spreading, acute–ovate, ca. 5 × 2 mm, light pink purple (white in bud), glabrous; stamens 5, attached at base of corolla tube; filaments erect, 2.9—3.3 mm long, white, glabrous; anthers dorsifixed, dithecal, ca. 1.5 mm long, bright yellow, longitudinally dehiscent; pollen yellow; nectary disc between bases of filaments and ovary, slightly scalloped, 0.15 mm long, light green; pistil 1, ca. 6 mm long; ovary superior, conic–ovoid, 2.2—2.5 × 1 mm, green, not lobed, obtuse with several glandular hairs at top, 3–chambered, each chamber with ca. 20 ovules; style 3—3.5 mm long, white, 3–branched, the stigmatic branches spreading, 0.8—1 mm long, short–papillate on upper side.
Fruit capsule, loculicidal, dehiscent by 3 valves, 3–lobed, many–seeded, ovoid subtruncate at top, 3.5—4 × 2 mm, valves tan and splitting tip–to–base.
Seed angled resembling grains of sand, 0.5—0.6 mm long, pale brown (brown), hard; gelatinous when wetted.
A. C. Gibson