Giliastrum Explained

Giliastrum is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polemoniaceae.^[1]

Taxonomy

The genus name of Giliastrum is in honour of Filippo Luigi Gilii (1756–1821), an Italian clergyman, naturalist and astronomer who worked in part in the Vatican City,^[2] and it was first described and published in Fl. Rocky Mts. on page 699 in 1917.

Species

Known species, according to Kew;

• Giliastrum acerosum
• Giliastrum castellanosii
• Giliastrum foetidum
• Giliastrum gypsophilum
• Giliastrum incisum
• Giliastrum insigne
• Giliastrum ludens
• Giliastrum purpusii
• Giliastrum rigidulum
• Giliastrum stewartii

Distribution

Its native range is the central and southwestern USA (found in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas) to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic) and Mexico down to northwestern Argentina.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Giliastrum (Brand) Rydb. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . Plants of the World Online . 26 May 2021 . en.
2. Book: Quattrocchi, Umberto . CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names, Volume II, D–L . CRC Press . 2000 . 978-0-8493-2676-9 . Boca Raton, Florida.