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Abronia mellifera

honey scented sand-verbena, white sand-verbena

annual abronia, trans montane abronia, trans montane sand verbena

Habit Plants perennial. Plants annual, infrequently perennial.
Stems

decumbent to ascending, much branched, elongate, glabrous or glandular-pubescent.

decumbent to ascending, much branched, elongate, reddish at least basally, glandular-pubescent, rarely glabrous or viscid-pubescent.

Leaves

petiole 1–6 cm;

blade ovate to lance-elliptic, 1–6 × 0.5–4 cm, margins entire to sinuate and ± undulate, surfaces glabrous or glandular-pubescent.

petiole 1–4.5 cm;

blade broadly ovate to orbiculate, 1–5 × 0.5–3 cm, margins entire or ± repand and undulate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely glandular-pubescent.

Inflorescences

peduncle longer than subtending petiole;

bracts lanceolate to obovate, 5–12 × 1–5 mm, papery, glabrate to glandular-pubescent;

flowers 25–60.

peduncle longer than subtending petiole;

bracts lanceolate to ovate, 3–10 × 1–5 mm, papery, puberulent to densely glandular-pubescent;

flowers 15–35.

Perianth

tube pale rose proximally to greenish distally, 15–25 mm, limb white, 7–12 mm diam.

tube greenish to coral pink, 6–18 mm, limb white to pale pink, 5–8 mm diam.

Fruits

winged, broadly obdeltate or cordate in profile, 6–10 × 4–10 mm, thin, usually coriaceous, rarely indurate, base attenuate, apex prominently beaked;

wings (2–)5 (when 2, folded to form single deep groove), without dilations, broad, thin, without cavities.

winged, turbinate, 3–8 × 3–6 mm, coriaceous, apex broadly tapered to prominent beak;

wings (2–)5 (when 2, folded together) truncate distally with conspicuous dilations, cavities extending throughout.

Abronia mellifera

Abronia turbinata

Phenology Flowering spring–fall. Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Sandy soils, cold desert scrub, grasslands Sandy soils, desert scrub
Elevation 100-2000 m [300-6600 ft] 900-2500 m [3000-8200 ft]
Distribution
map from FNA
ID; OR; UT; WA; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
map from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Parent taxa Nyctaginaceae > Abronia Nyctaginaceae > Abronia
Sibling taxa
A. alpina, A. ameliae, A. ammophila, A. angustifolia, A. argillosa, A. bigelovii, A. bolackii, A. carletonii, A. elliptica, A. fragrans, A. latifolia, A. macrocarpa, A. maritima, A. nana, A. pogonantha, A. turbinata, A. umbellata, A. villosa
A. alpina, A. ameliae, A. ammophila, A. angustifolia, A. argillosa, A. bigelovii, A. bolackii, A. carletonii, A. elliptica, A. fragrans, A. latifolia, A. macrocarpa, A. maritima, A. mellifera, A. nana, A. pogonantha, A. umbellata, A. villosa
Name authority Douglas ex Hooker: Bot. Mag. 56: plate 2879. (1829) Torrey ex S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 285, plate 31, figs. 1–5, 8, 9. (1871)
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 65. Treatment author: Leo A. Galloway. FNA vol. 4, p. 66. Treatment author: Leo A. Galloway.
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