Foothills to sub-alpine. Open woodlands, rocky slopes, openings. Summer.  Opal Lake Trail, July 10, 2010 and
La Plata Canyon, June 22, 2010.

Leptosiphon nuttallii grows from four to thirteen inches tall in either a compact or open form.  Numerous plants are often found near each other.  Leaves are narrow and bright green and the numerous flowers are brilliant white.

In some regions of the western United States, this is a common plant from low montane to subalpine.  In the Four Corners area the plant is uncommon and usually found at high elevations.

Asa Gray named this species Gilia nuttallii in 1870 from a specimen collected by famed botanist and Harvard teacher, Thomas Nuttall, in southeast Idaho in the early 1800s.  Joseph Ewan renamed the species Linanthastrum nuttallii in 1942 and in the early 2000s Porter and Johnson put it into the genus Leptosiphon, naming it Leptosiphon nuttallii.  (Click for more biographical information about Nuttall). "Lepto siphon" is Greek for "slender tube".

Foothills to sub-alpine. Open woodlands, rocky slopes, openings. Summer.
La Plata Canyon, June 22, 2010.

When Leptosiphon nuttallii is in full bloom, it is completely white with flowers. The stems at left show numerous pinkish buds that will open over a period of about a week. 

Foothills to sub-alpine. Open woodlands, rocky slopes, openings. Summer.
La Plata Canyon, June 22, 2010 and Opal Lake Trail, July 10, 2010 and Continental Divide Trail south of Wolf Creek Pass, July 24, 2011.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Leptosiphon nuttallii subspecies nuttallii