Gambelia juncea is a highly variable woody perennial to 1 m (3.3 ft) characterized by long, arching, reed-like stems and showy, bright red, two-lipped tubular flowers.

Native to the Baja California peninsula and coastal Sonora, this species is widespread in the region across numerous habitats and has several varieties.

[5] Gambelia juncea is an erect or spreading shrub with many slender stems that are much-branched and 6–15 dm (24–59 in) high.

"[8] In 1860 Albert Kellogg described the monotypic genus Saccularia veatchii based on material collected on Cedros Island by John A. Veatch.

Kellogg notes the similarity of Saccularia to the Peruvian genus Galvezia of Dombey, suggesting that they are closely allied, but kept them separated based on the morphological differences between their styles and stigmas.

pubescens from the Cape region, separated from G. juncea on the basis of its hairy flowering stems and placed with other pubescent plants from San Clemente Island.

Brandegee collected the specimens at the rocky promontory of Cabo San Lucas and at Saucito in Baja California Sur.

[13] In 1924 Ivan M. Johnston described and combined a new series of varieties for Galvezia juncea based on information from expeditions to the islands of the Gulf of California in 1921.

foliosa from San Felipe and several Gulf islands, distinguishing it from the typical species on the basis of well-developed foliage with long leaves and glabrous stems.

The typical form of G. juncea was reported as a glabrate plant with reduced leaves found over the western part of the peninsula.

typica, characterized by reduced or almost lacking leaves, and glaucous, broomlike stems, and inferred the type locality from the HMS Sulphur at San Quintin.

typica was characterized by small leaves less than 1 cm (0.39 in) long and ovoid to oblong-shaped fruit capsules, while his var.

pubescens was characterized by larger leaves 1–2.5 cm (0.39–0.98 in) long and with broadly ovoid to subglobose fruit capsules.

[9] By 1980, Wiggins's Flora of Baja California recognized three varieties, distinguished by leaf size and habit.

foliosa to represent plants from ranging from Bahia de Los Angeles to Saucito with weak, clambering, and "not markedly reedlike" habits.

Variety pubescens was still retained from his previous assessment, although the key in Flora of Baja California discards fruit shape.

Sutton's recognition of the two Cape taxa was subsequently challenged by a 1993 paper by Wayne J. Elisens and Allan D. Nelson, which through morphological and genetic analysis, suggested that G. rupicola and G. glabrata were not distinct from G. juncea and within the range of polymorphism for that species.

[1] Gambelia juncea grows in a wide variety of habitats, from coastal sage scrub and chaparral in the north of its range to deserts, mountains, xeric scrublands and tropical dry forests in the south.

[4] Gambelia juncea is utilized in the garden setting as a showy ornamental that requires little water, tolerates a wide range of soils, and flowers nearly year-round with minimal irrigation.

A fine-textured shrub, this species works well for background areas or in combination with bolder native plants and succulents.