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.

The potent smell from glands within its basal leaf formations grant it the name skunk flower.

The common name of Gilia (once a component of its scientific name) is pronounced "Jee-lee-uh", an Italian pronunciation, after its original namesake, Italian scientist and clergyman Filippo Luigi Gilii.

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.

Researchers used fluorescent particles on flowers to create pollen analogs to track pollinating hummingbirds.