Pink Sand Verbena (Abronia angustifolia)

   
 

Pink Sand Verbena, Samalayuca dune field, Chihuahua, Mexico. Photographs by Wynn Anderson.

 

Close-up of the flowers of Pink Sand Verbena and the viscid nature of the plant. Samalayuca dune field, Chihuahua, Mexico. Photographs by Wynn Anderson.

• Common English Names: Pink Sand Verbena
• Common Spanish Names: None known
• Scientific Name: Abronia angustifolia (uh-BRO-nee-uh ann-gust-tih-FOW-lee-uh)
• Family: Nyctaginaceae (Four O'clock Family)
• Geographic Range: Sandy soils from southern Arizona and southern New Mexico (White Sands) to Big Bend, Texas, the Samalayuca dune field south of Juarez in Chihuahua, and on dunes in Coahuila, Mexico.
• Description: Annual or short lived perennial herb, viscid foliage, and stems usually low, branching and somewhat spreading, with attractive round umbels of pale pink to rose-purple flowers
• Notes: Abronia carletonii is a similar looking pink flowering perennial plant found on dry calcareous or gyp soils of southeastern New Mexico and West Texas.

Last Update: 18 Sep 2013