Ipomopsis is derived from a Greek work meaning "striking appearance". The striking trumpet-shaped, odorless flowers are arranged in compact 1-sided clusters. The corolla is red, highlighted with yellow or white mottling in the throat. The stamens are attached to the corolla tube and are described in botanical descriptions as epipetalous, or on the petal. The principal pollinators of Scarlet Gilia are hummingbirds. As they probe for nectar in the slender-tubed flowers, these birds pick up and carry pollen on their heads and bills from one plant to another.
DISTRIBUTION: Montane shrublands from the Klamath and High Cascade Ranges to the Modoc Plateau and northern and central High Sierra Nevada; 100-2500 m.
