Abronia villosa

Desert sand verbena

Family: Nyctaginaceae · Type: annual · Native

Desert sand verbena is a California native annual found in desert regions at low elevations. Flowering from March to September, this plant produces pale to bright magenta flowers with a white-spotted throat in clusters of 15 to 35 blossoms. Growing with prostrate to ascending stems up to 80 centimeters long and covered in glandular hairs, it spreads across sandy landscapes. Its triangular-ovate leaves are 1 to 5 centimeters long, with petioles ranging from 0.5 to 5 centimeters. The distinctive fruit features a hardened beak and prominent raised veins, with thin wings that may be rounded or angled.

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Imperial, San Diego, Inyo, Kern, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Orange, Mono, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, San Mateo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.