Ipomopsis aggregata

Ipomopsis aggregata
In the Wenatchee Mountains
Conservation status
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Embryophytes
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Polemoniaceae
Genus:	Ipomopsis
Species:	I. aggregata
Binomial name
Ipomopsis aggregata (Pursh) V.E.Grant
Subspecies
I. a. subsp. aggregata I. a. subsp. attenuata I. a. subsp. bridgesii I. a. subsp. candida I. a. subsp. carmenensis I. a. subsp. collina I. a. subsp. formosissima I. a. subsp. weberi
Synonyms
List Batanthes aggregata (Pursh) Raf. Batanthes attenuata (A.Gray) Greene Batanthes bridgesii (A.Gray) Greene Batanthes collina (Greene) Greene Batanthes flavida (Greene) Greene Batanthes formosissima (Greene) Greene Batanthes leucantha (Greene) Greene Batanthes pulchella (Douglas ex Benth.) Greene Batanthes scopulorum Greene Batanthes texana (Greene) Greene Callisteris aggregata (Pursh) Greene Callisteris attenuata Greene Callisteris bridgesii Greene Callisteris collina Greene Callisteris flavida Greene Callisteris formosissima Greene Callisteris leucantha Greene Callisteris pulchella (Douglas ex Benth.) Greene Callisteris texana Greene Cantua aggregata Pursh Collomia aggregata (Pursh) Porter ex A.Gray Gilia aggregata (Pursh) Spreng. Gilia aggregata var. attenuata A.Gray Gilia aggregata f. aurea J.F.Macbr. & Payson Gilia aggregata subsp. bridgesii (A.Gray) Brand Gilia aggregata var. bridgesii A.Gray Gilia aggregata var. candida (Rydb.) Cronquist Gilia aggregata f. candida Brand Gilia aggregata subsp. euaggregata Brand Gilia aggregata subsp. formosissima (Greene) Wherry Gilia aggregata subvar. helleri Brand Gilia aggregata var. maculata M.E.Jones Gilia aggregata f. maculata (M.E.Jones) Wherry Gilia aggregata f. pulchella (Douglas ex Benth.) Wherry Gilia aggregata var. texana (Greene) I.M.Johnst. Gilia aggregata var. typica Brand Gilia aggregata f. ventrensis Brand Gilia attenuata (A.Gray) A.Nelson Gilia attenuata var. collina Cockerell Gilia attenuata f. helleri (Brand) Wherry Gilia attenuata f. ventrensis (Brand) Wherry Gilia bridgesii (Greene) Wherry Gilia candida Rydb. Gilia candida subsp. collina (Greene) Wherry Gilia candida f. leucantha (Greene) Wherry Gilia candida f. scariosa (Rydb.) Wherry Gilia candida subsp. vera Wherry Gilia formosissima (Greene) Wooton & Standl. Gilia greeneana Wooton & Standl. Gilia pulchella Douglas ex Benth. Gilia scariosa Rydb. Gilia texana (Greene) Wooton & Standl. Gilia texana f. flavida (Greene) Wherry Ipomeria aggregata (Pursh) Nutt. Ipomopsis aggregata var. attenuata (A.Gray) Dorn Ipomopsis aggregata var. maculata (M.E.Jones) S.L.Welsh Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. texana (Greene) Wherry Ipomopsis aggregata var. texana (Greene) Shinners Ipomopsis bridgesii (A.Gray) Wherry Ipomopsis candida (Rydb.) Wherry Ipomopsis elegans Lindl. Navarretia aggregata (Pursh) Kuntze

Ipomopsis aggregata is a species of biennial flowering plant in the phlox family, Polemoniaceae, commonly known as scarlet skyrocket, scarlet gilia, or skyrocket.

Description

Scarlet skyrockets are herbaceous plants that grow a flowering stem that is typically 20 to 100 centimeters (8–39 in) tall. They have characteristic red, trumpet-shaped flowers and basal leaves stemming from a single erect stem. Trumpet flowers can range from white, red, orange-red, and pink. Pink flowers are especially common in high mesa areas of Colorado, such as the Flat Tops, Grand Mesa, or the Uncompahgre Plateau. Yellow flowers have been reported for plant but are extremely rare. Fernlike leaves are low to the ground, helping encourage warmth in colder areas, and have silver specks and a fine white pubescence. A well-known delicacy in nature, I. aggregata is well adapted to herbivory, as it can regrow multiple flowering stalks once lost. Although herbivory initially reduces seed and fruit count of the plant, intermediate herbivory and its stimulating factors could lead to the plant growing larger over time.

The many flowers, usually around 84 per plant, open in a series over four to seven weeks.

Scarlet skyrockets are generally a monocarpic plant, with plants dying after setting seed, but can very rarely go on to flower a second time. Field studies in Colorado found that plants are generally three to seven years old when they produce flowers.

Ipomopsis aggregata young plant

Chemistry

Patuletin glycosides can be found in I. aggregata as well as eupalitin and eupatolitin.

Taxonomy

When it was given its scientific name in 1814 by Frederick Pursh, the plant was placed in the genus Cantua. He described the species from a specimen collected by Meriwether Lewis on the return leg of the Corps of Discovery Expedition on Hungery Creek in what is now Idaho County, Idaho on 26 June 1806. By the time it was examined by Pursh it was in bad condition and was described as being a, "wretched scrap". It was moved to Gilia in 1824 by Kurt Sprengel and to Ipomopsis by Verne Grant in 1956. Although Grant argued for the reclassification of the species to Ipomopsis in the 1950s, athoratative sources such as the Intermountain Flora by Arthur Cronquist retained the name Gilia aggregata into the 1980s. Together with its genus it is classified in the Polemoniaceae family and has eight accepted subspecies.

• Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. aggregata – From British Columbia to northern Mexico
• Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. attenuata – Colorado & Wyoming
• Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. bridgesii – California
• Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. candida – Colorado & New Mexico
• Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. carmenensis – Coahuila
• Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. collina – Colorado & New Mexico
• Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. formosissima – Washington & Oregon to Chihuahua
• Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. weberi – Idaho, Wyoming, & Colorado

Ipomopsis aggregata has 62 synonyms of the species and six of it subspecies including 35 species names. There are eight homotypic synonyms of the species.

Table of Homotypic Synonyms

Name	Year	Rank	Notes
Batanthes aggregata (Pursh) Raf.	1832	species
Callisteris aggregata (Pursh) Greene	1905	species
Cantua aggregata Pursh	1813	species
Collomia aggregata (Pursh) Porter ex A.Gray	1878	species
Gilia aggregata (Pursh) Spreng.	1824	species
Gilia aggregata subsp. euaggregata Brand	1907	subspecies	not validly publ.
Ipomeria aggregata (Pursh) Nutt.	1818	species
Navarretia aggregata (Pursh) Kuntze	1891	species

Names

The name of the accepted genus, Ipomopsis, is a Botanical Latin combination of Ipomoea with a suffix derived from the Ancient Greek ὄψις (ópsis), giving a meaning "similar to Ipomoea", the morning glories, a reference to the shape of the flowers in this genus. The species name, aggregata, is derived from Latin and means "clustered" when used in Botanical Latin, referring to how the flowers are clustered together on the flowering stems. Ipomopsis aggregata is know by many common names including scarlet skyrocket, skyrocket, scarlet gilia, skyrocket gilia, scarlet trumpet flower, desert trumpets, sky trumpet, and ruby honeysuckle. It is called skyrocket for the color and shape of the flowers evoking a firework. The name of scarlet gilia derived from the former scientific classification in the genus Gilia, which was named for the spanish botanist Filippo Luigi Gilii.

The potent unpleasant odor of produced by the leaves, especially when wet, cause it to be known as skunk flower or polecat plant. It is also called hummingbird flower, however other species such as Epilobium canum are also known by this common name and plants that are food sources for hummingbirds are generally described as hummingbird flowers.

In the Umatilla language Ipomopsis aggregata is known as qmámsali tkʷátat, meaning "hummingbird food".

Distribution and habitat

Ipomopsis aggregata is native to western North America, growing mainly in mountains in the west-central to western regions and ranging from British Columbia to Mexico. In Mexico subspecies carmenensis grows in the state of Coahuila while subspecies formosissima grows in Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, and Sonora.

In the United States it is a common species from the Rocky Mountains westwards. Though it is not found in the western counties of Washington or the northwest of Oregon. Similarly, it grows in the northern parts of California and the Sierra Nevada, but not in southern California, the Central Valley, or most of the Coast Ranges. It does grows in Texas, but only in the Trans-Pecos and Hutchinson, Roberts, and Lipscomb counties in the Texas panhandle. It is reported to be native to Oklahoma, but the Natural Resources Conservation Service does not report a specific location for the species. In Canada it only is native to southern British Columbia.

Ecology

Ipomopsis aggregata most often visited and pollinated by and hummingbirds, with the rufous hummingbirds and calliope hummingbirds frequently seen attending the flowers in the Sierra Nevadas and broad-tailed hummingbirds the most frequent in the Rocky Mountains. In addition to hummingbirds the white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) occasionally feed from the flowers, but do not pollinate them. Other smaller moths are known too feed on the flowers near Fairplay Colorado at night and might be pollinators. Pollen collecting bees visit the flowers fairly frequently including Perdita giliae and bumblebees (Bombus). Basal leaves overwinter, even in subalpine areas of the Rocky Mountains. The plant blooms in late spring to early summer, and into fall if weather conditions are favorable. Optimal growing conditions include little water, part shade, and sandy soil. Although defined as hermaphroditic, Ipomopsis aggregata has shown sex allocation in flowering months, with phenotypic sex reaching a proportion of 0.77 female components to male.

Elk and mule deer commonly feed on I. aggregata.

Current research

The plant is currently being used to better understand pollination factors. Researchers used fluorescent particles on flowers to create pollen analogs to track pollinating hummingbirds. This ultimately gains insight into cross pollination techniques carried out by pollinating bodies. Further, it is a model for pollinator-mediated selection and spatial genetic patterns.

Uses

In the traditional medicine of the Sahaptin people tribes boiled scarlet skyrocket is boiled to produce a drink for kidney health.

References

Sources

Books

• Art, Henry Warren (1990). The Wildflower Gardener's Guide: Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain, and Western Canada Edition. Pownal, Vermont: Storey Communications. ISBN 978-0-88266-584-9. OCLC 24851584. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Casebeer, MaryRuth (1999). Discover California Wildflowers. Sonora, California: Hooker Press. ISBN 978-0-9665463-0-9. OCLC 40642577. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Cronquist, Arthur; Holmgren, Arthur H.; Holmgren, Noel H.; Reveal, James L.; Holmgren, Patricia K. (1984). Intermountain Flora : Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A.. Vol. Four. Subclass Asteridae (except Asteraceae). New York: Published for the New York Botanical Garden by Hafner Pub. Co. ISBN 978-0-89327-248-7. OCLC 320442. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
• Dodson, Carolyn; Dunmire, William W. (2007). Mountain Wildflowers of the Southern Rockies : Revealing Their Natural History. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-4244-7. LCCN 2007013766. OCLC 122973704.
• Earle, A. Scott; Reveal, James L. (2003). Lewis and Clark's green world : the expedition and its plants (2003 ed.). Helena, Montana: Farcountry Press. ISBN 978-1-56037-250-9. OCLC 52717881. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Grant, Verne; Grant, Karen A. (1965). Flower Pollination in the Phlox Family. New York: Columbia University Press. OCLC 498324. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Steve L. Jr.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region: Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah (First ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. ISBN 978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN 0161-1542. LCCN 2012949654. OCLC 859541992. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur; Ownbey, Marion; Thompson, J. W. (1955). Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Vol. 4: Ericaceae Through Campanulaceae (First ed.). Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
• Hunn, Eugene S. (1990). Nch'i-wána, "the big river" : Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-96851-3. OCLC 19921066.
• Holloway, Joel Ellis (2005). Neill, Amanda (ed.). A Dictionary of Common Wildflowers of Texas & the Southern Great Plains. Fort Worth, Texas: TCU Press. ISBN 978-0-87565-309-9. OCLC 61451157.
• Jennings, Neil L. (2011). Central Beauty: Wildflowers and Flowering Shrubs of the Southern Interior of British Columbia. Surrey, British Columbia: Rocky Mountain Books. ISBN 978-1-926855-44-8. OCLC 1043650035. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Niehaus, Theodore F. (1974). Sierra Wildflowers: Mt. Lassen to Kern Canyon. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-02742-8. OCLC 980038. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Orr, Robert T.; Orr, Margaret C. (1981). Wildflowers of western America. New York: Galahad Books. ISBN 978-0-88365-557-3. OCLC 7731055. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Pursh, Frederick (1814). Flora Americae Septentrionalis; or, A systematic arrangement and description of the plants of North America. Containing, besides what have been described by preceding authors, many new and rare species, collected during twelve years travels and residence in that country. London: White, Cochrance, and Co. OCLC 367982772. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Taylor, Ronald J. (1992). Sagebrush Country : A Wildflower Sanctuary (revised ed.). Missoula, Montana: Mountain Press Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-87842-280-7. OCLC 25708726.
• Tekulsky, Mathew (1990). The Hummingbird Garden (First ed.). New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-517-57548-2. OCLC 20392073. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Wiese, Karen (2000). Sierra Nevada Wildflowers: A Field Guide to Common Wildflowers and Shrubs of the Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks. Helena, Mont: Falcon. ISBN 978-1-56044-981-2. OCLC 716475849. Retrieved 22 June 2026.

Journal articles

• Campbell, Diane R. (May 1992). "Variation in Sex Allocation and Floral Morphology in Ipomopsis aggregata (Polemoniaceae)". American Journal of Botany. 79 (5). American Journal of Botany: 516–521. doi:10.2307/2444862. JSTOR 2444862. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Smith, D.M.; Glennie, C.W.; Harborne, J.B. (1971). "Identification of eupalitin, eupatolitin and patuletin glycosides in Ipomopsis aggregata". Phytochemistry. 10 (12): 3115–3120. doi:10.1016/S0031-9422(00)97361-8.
• Stearns, F.; Boles, S.; Hurston, H.; Vo, T.; Butler, D.; Shuham, W.; Juenger, T. (2008). "Identification of nuclear microsatellite loci for Ipomopsis aggegata and the distribution of pairwise relatedness in a natural population". Stearns. 8 (2): 437–439. doi:10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01984.x. PMID 21585814.

Web sources

• Hassler, Michael (20 May 2026). "Ipomopsis aggregata in the Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. Version 26.05". World Plants. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
• NatureServe (5 June 2026). "Ipomopsis aggregata". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
• NRCS (2026). "Ipomopsis aggregata". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 22 June 2026.
• POWO (2026a). "Ipomopsis aggregata (Pursh) V.E.Grant". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• POWO (2026b). "Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. aggregata". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• POWO (2026c). "Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. attenuata (A.Gray) V.E.Grant & A.D.Grant". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• POWO (2026d). "Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. bridgesii (Greene) V.E.Grant & A.D.Grant". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• POWO (2026e). "Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. candida (Rydb.) V.E.Grant & A.D.Grant". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• POWO (2026f). "Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. carmenensis Henrickson". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• POWO (2026g). "Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. collina (Greene) Wilken & Allard". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• POWO (2026h). "Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. formosissima (Greene) Wherry". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• POWO (2026i). "Ipomopsis aggregata subsp. weberi V.E.Grant & Wilken". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 June 2026.
• Schneider, Al (2024). "Ipomopsis aggregata". Southwest Colorado Wildflowers. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
• Wilken, Dieter H. (2012). "Ipomopsis aggregata, in Jepson Flora Project". Jepson eFlora. University of California, Berkeley. Archived from the original on 3 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2026.

External links

• Waser, Nickolas M.; Price, Mary V. (1982). "A comparison of pollen and fluorescent dye carry-over by natural pollinators of Ipomopsis aggregata (Polemoniaceae)". Ecology. 63 (4): 1168–1172. doi:10.2307/1937253. JSTOR 1937253.