Taxon Report

Gambelia speciosa Nutt.

showy island snapdragon

Print Report


© Rick York and CNPS

Taxon Summary

Gambelia speciosa, commonly known as showy island snapdragon, is a perennial shrub in the Plantaginaceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Coastal scrub, growing at elevations from 0 to 900 meters. Gambelia speciosa is ranked 1B.2, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Moderately threatened in California.

  Classification
Scientific Name:
 Gambelia speciosa Nutt.
Common Name:
 showy island snapdragon
Family: Plantaginaceae
Element Code: PDSCR2H010
USDA Plants Symbol: GASP10
Synonyms/Other Names:
  • Galvezia speciosa

Ecology and Life History
Lifeform: perennial shrub
Blooming Period: Feb-May Feb-May
Elevation: 0-900 (0-2955)
General Habitats: Coastal scrub
Microhabitat: Rocky
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status
CA Rare Plant Rank: 1B.2
Global Rank: G3
State Rank:
 S3
State List: None
Fed List: None
Other Status: SB_CalBG/RSABG
CRPR Changes:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB
Total Occurrences: 44
Element Occurrence Ranks:
   Excellent (A) 0
   Good (B) 0
   Fair (C) 0
   Poor (D) 0
   None (X) 1
   Unknown (U) 43

Location
California Endemic:  False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Los Angeles (LAX), Santa Barbara (SBA)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
San Clemente Island Central (3211874), San Clemente Island North (3211885), San Clemente Island South (3211873), Santa Barbara Island (3311848)*, Santa Catalina East (3311833), Santa Catalina North (3311844), Santa Catalina West (3311845)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB

Threat List Total: 1
EOs with Threat Listed: Total EOs % of EOs
1 2 %
Erosion/runoff 1 2%

Notes
Collected only once (1863) on SBR Isl. Feral herbivores removed from SCM Isl., and vegetation recovering. See Galvezia speciosa in The Jepson Manual (1993). See Madroño 21(5):380 (1972) for distributional information.
Threats:
Taxonomy:

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 30 October 2025].