Mirabilis laevis

Desert wishbone bush

Family: Nyctaginaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Desert wishbone bush is a California native perennial found in desert bioregions, thriving in rocky or sandy habitats at moderate elevations. Flowering from spring to summer, this plant produces white to magenta flowers 5 to 14 millimeters long with delicate, clustered blooms. Growing 2 to 8 meters tall with broadly forked stems that clambering or form dense clumps, the plant has a distinctive woody base. Its fleshy leaves vary from glabrous to glandular-hairy, contributing to the plant's adaptable desert character. The fruit is an intriguing ovoid shape, typically dark-colored with subtle vertical lines and often bearing distinctive spots.

California counties: Riverside, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Diego, Imperial, Kern, Santa Barbara, Orange, San Bernardino, Inyo, Mono, Fresno, San Luis Obispo

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