That's Not My Name: Episode 1, Gambelia
Sometimes the computer vision is great. Sometimes it's... not. This is my first attempt at writing a "computer vision clean up" guide. Here I will try to teach you to ID genus Gambelia and the many things (mostly Salvia) that are Not Gambelia. Hopefully there will be more more episodes in the series as I have time. Just a little heads up, a lot of these episodes are going to involve cultivated plant observations, simply because in general they have lower rates of correct identification. If you're the type who thinks identifying cultivated plants is a waste of time, maybe this isn't for you.
Genus Gambelia (the plant genus, not the lizard genus of the same name) has two species.* One species, Gambelia speciosa, is endemic to the California Channel Islands of Catalina, San Clemente, and Guadalupe--it does not occur naturally on the mainland. The other species, Gambelia juncea, occurs down the length of the Baja California peninsula and some adjacent islands. (The common name on iNat, Cedros Island Bush Snapdragon, is rather dumb, implying a much smaller range than it actually has. Wikipedia calls it Baja Bush Snapdragon.) Both species are available in horticulture trade in California. G. speciosa is the more popular in gardens. Neither species seems to be much available outside California, although I did find one legitimate observation of a G. speciosa plant in Spain.
*iNaturalist recognizes four species in genus Gambelia, but the rest of the botanical world considers G. rupicola and G. glabrata to be synonyms of G. juncea. That's probably why there are no observations recorded for either one.
Identifying Gambelia
Gambelia speciosa flowers have a closed "mouth" and wide "lips." The plant has bigger, more rounded leaves.
More images of Gambelia speciosa here
Gambelia juncea flowers have narrow "lips", and an open "mouth" that is pale in color on the inside. The plant has small pointed leaves, or sometimes no leaves at all if stressed.
More images of Gambelia juncea here
Both species have leaves with entire margins (the leaf edges are smooth with no teeth or crenations of any kind) and fine hairs on both stems and leaves.
That's Not Gambelia speciosa
Plants most commonly mistaken for G. speciosa include the red-flowered, small-leaved sages Salvia greggii and Salvia microphylla, plus hort hybrids involving the two. You are justified if you prefer to ID to genus Salvia and call it a day. If you're a perfectionist, keep reading.
S. greggii has leaves with smooth margins. Th center vein is visible but side veins are not prominent. Leaf shape varies, but tends more toward elliptical.
More images of Salvia greggii here
S. microphylla leaves have crenate margins and prominent veins. Again leaf shape varies, but is often more ovoid.
More images of Salvia microphylla here
You will see A LOT of pictures of a sage with flowers that are both red and white, either both colors on a single flower or both colors on a single plant. This is Salvia cultivar 'Hot Lips'. Depending on who you ask it might be considered S. microphylla, or it might be the hybrid of S. microphylla and S. greggii, which is apparently named Salvia × jamensis.
More images of Salvia 'Hot Lips' here
Horticulture is brimming with hybrids involving S. greggii and S. microphylla crossed with each other or with other species of sage. You will see a lot of leaves that do not fall neatly in either camp. I'll let you come up with your own philosophy here, but I tend to put species names on plants that look nearly like the real species, and use ID of just genus Salvia on plants that are ambiguous. You may prefer to use the genus ID more liberally than I do, and that's fine.
And now, through the magic of horticulture, side-by-side images!
S. microphylla LEFT and S. greggii RIGHT
Of course, you're going to see all sorts of other red-flowered plants thrown in--roses, garden geraniums, snapdragons, anything with vaguely the right color. You may ID these or not as your skill permits.
That's Not Gambelia juncea
Luckily, the computer vision works better on Gambelia juncea. The usual confusion here is with another garden plant, Russelia equisetiformis. It has minimal leaves, several stems coming out in a whorl at each node, and a very pendant habit. Note that Russelia flowers have 4 equal lobes, and are usually hanging downwards.
Here is Russelia equisetiformis:
One more image available here
Here they are both together:
Time to Fix Some Observations
- Observations that may or may not (usually not) be Gambelia speciosa (14 pages)
- Observations that may or may not be Gambelia juncea (3 pages)
- Observations that may or may not be genus Gambelia (16 pages). Note this link is mostly repetitive with the other two.