Abronia elliptica

Abronia elliptica
Bighorn Basin, Wyoming
Secure
Secure (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Nyctaginaceae
Genus: Abronia
Species:
A. elliptica
Binomial name
Abronia elliptica
Synonyms
List
    • Abronia bakeri
    • Abronia bolackii
    • Abronia fallax
    • Abronia glabra
    • Abronia pumila
    • Abronia ramosa
    • Abronia salsa
    • Abronia sparsifolia

Abronia elliptica, the western sand-verbena or fragrant white sand-verbena, is a species in the four o'clock family native to the western United States.

Description

Western sand-verbena is a perennial plant that grows from a deep, tough, woody taproot forming a low clump of green to blue-green stems and leaves. It occasionally has rhizomes and can form extensive patches of plants.[2] It can occasionally be nearly stemless, but usually has stems either covered in glandular-hairs or infrequently hairless.[3] Stems branch as they grow outwards along the ground and turn up at the ends, upwards at an angle, or straight up from the base of the plant to a length of 10 to 50 centimeters (4–20 in).[2]

The leaves are more or less succulent and often have a very slightly wavy edge,[2] but can also be smooth, sinuate, or undulate.[3] They measure 1.5–6 centimeters (0.6–2.4 in) long and 0.5–3.5 cm wide with a short leaf stem of 1–4 cm (0.4–1.6 in). The upper surface is hairless to puberulent, covered in very thin and short hairs, while to lower surface is thinly puberulent to solidly hairy.[3] The leaf shape is variable, narrow to broad lanceolate, lance-oblong, oblong, ovate, or lance-rhombic with a tip that can be narrow to rounded.[2] They are attached to opposite sides of the stems or directly to the base of the plant.[4]

The flower clusters are round and head-like with a series of broad oval bracts underneath it.[5] They measure 0.5–2 cm long and 0.3–1 cm wide.[3] The small, mostly white flowers are tubular with five lobes.[5] Each cluster has 20 to 75 flowers, but usually not more than 70 or less than 25.[6] The tube of each flower can be rose to somewhat green in color while the flower lobes are white,[3] sometimes blushed with pink.[5] The flowers close during the day to conserve moisture and are pleasantly fragrant when open.[7]

Taxonomy

Abronia elliptica was scientifically described and named in 1899 by Aven Nelson. It is part of the genus Abronia which is classified in the Nyctaginaceae family.[8] The species is closely related to Abronia fragrans and is considered a species complex, a group .[9] It has no subspecies and has 13 synonyms.[8]

Table of Synonyms
Name Year Rank Notes
Abronia bakeri Greene 1901 species = het.
Abronia bolackii N.D.Atwood, S.L.Welsh & K.D.Heil 2002 species = het.
Abronia fallax Heimerl ex Rydb. 1902 species = het.
Abronia fragrans var. elliptica (A.Nelson) M.E.Jones 1903 variety ≡ hom.
Abronia fragrans f. elliptica (A.Nelson) Heimerl ex Rydb. 1902 form ≡ hom.
Abronia fragrans var. harrisii (S.L.Welsh) S.L.Welsh 2008 variety = het., with incorrect basionym ref.
Abronia fragrans var. pterocarpa M.E.Jones 1903 variety = het.
Abronia glabra Rydb. 1902 species = het.
Abronia nana var. harrisii S.L.Welsh 1986 variety = het.
Abronia pumila Rydb. 1902 species = het.
Abronia ramosa Standl. 1909 species = het.
Abronia salsa Rydb. 1902 species = het.
Abronia sparsifolia Standl. 1909 species = het.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym ; = heterotypic synonym

Names

The scientific name, elliptica, means 'elliptical' in Botanical Latin, referencing a common leaf shape for the species.[6] It is known as western sand-verbena,[10] fragrant white sand-verbena,[11] and running sand verbena.[12] It is also called dwarf sand-verbena,[1] however Abronia nana is also known by this common name.[12] Many species in the genus including Abronia elliptica,[5] Abronia umbellata,[13] and Abronia villosa,[14] as well as the genus as a whole are known as just sand verbena.[15]

Range and habitat

Western sand-verbena is native to Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Montana, and Nevada.[3] In Wyoming it grows mainly in south and west, but there is a population in Big Horn County in the north.In Colorado it is found only in the westernmost counties and it only grows in the northwest of New Mexico.[11][6] It is native to many parts of Utah, but only northern Arizona.[16] The species is also found throughout eastern Nevada.[11] Its elevation range is from 700 to 2,500 meters (2,300–8,200 ft).[3]

It often grows in rocky or sandy areas,[3] but is more likely to grow on somewhat clay soils in New Mexico and southeastern Utah.[16] It is associated the desert scrublands and open areas of juniper woodlands. It frequently grows in roadcuts.[16]

References

Citations

Sources

Books

  • Ackerfield, Jennifer (2022). Flora of Colorado (Second ed.). Fort Worth, Texas: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-889878-89-8. OCLC 1350496037.
  • Crockett, James Underwood; Allen, Oliver E. (1982). Wildflower Gardening. Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books. ISBN 978-0-8094-2556-3. OCLC 966033929. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  • Heil, Kenneth D.; O'Kane, Steve L. Jr.; Reeves, Linda Mary; Clifford, Arnold (2013). Flora of the Four Corners Region: Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah (First ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden. ISBN 978-1-930723-84-9. ISSN 0161-1542. LCCN 2012949654. OCLC 859541992. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  • Holmgren, Noel H.; Holmgren, Patricia K.; Reveal, James L.; et al. (2012). Intermountain Flora : Vascular Plants of the Intermountain West, U.S.A.. Vol. Two, Part A. Subclasses Magnoliidae–Caryophyllidae. New York: New York Botanical Garden. ISBN 978-0-89327-520-4. OCLC 1039880221. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  • Martin, William C.; Hutchins, Charles R. (1988). Kues, Barry S. (ed.). Fall Wildflowers of New Mexico. Illustrated by Robert DeWitt Ivey. Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-1080-4. OCLC 17621500. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  • Nabhan, Gary Paul, ed. (1999). Desert Wildflowers. Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona Department of Transportation. ISBN 978-1-893860-06-3. OCLC 32728441. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  • Niehaus, Theodore F. (1998). A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-585-36531-2. OCLC 47009623. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  • Phillips, Arthur Morton III (1990). Priehs, Timothy J. (ed.). Grand Canyon Wildflowers (Revised ed.). Grand Canyon Association. ISBN 978-0-938216-01-8. OCLC 22773761. Retrieved 15 April 2026.

Web sources

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