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annual abronia, trans montane abronia, trans montane sand verbena

dwarf sand verbena

Habit Plants annual, infrequently perennial. Plants perennial, acaulescent or nearly so, usually cespitose.
Stems

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

Leaves

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.

petiole 1–5 cm;

blade elliptic to lanceolate, shortly ovate, or oblong-ovate, (0.4–)0.5–2.5 × (0.2–)0.4–1.2 cm, less than 3 times as long as wide, margins entire or ± repand and undulate, surfaces glabrous or glandular-pubescent.

Inflorescences

peduncle longer than subtending petiole;

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

flowers 15–35.

bracts lanceolate to ovate, 4–9 × 2–7 mm, scarious, glandular-puberulent, often minutely so;

flowers 15–25.

Perianth

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

tube pale pink, 8–30 mm, limb white to pink, 6–10 mm diam.

Fruits

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.

obovate to obcordate in profile, 6–10 × 5–7 mm, scarious, apex low and broadly conic;

wings 5, without dilations, without cavities.

Abronia turbinata

Abronia nana

Phenology Flowering spring–fall.
Habitat Sandy soils, desert scrub
Elevation 900-2500 m (3000-8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NV; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

Abronia nana is a highly variable species. Perhaps contraction of the range of A. nana during the Pleistocene left isolated populations that have since diverged. This is especially apparent on the southern edge of the range of the species. In northeastern Arizona, densely tufted plants with very small blades are similar to short-leaved plants of A. bigelovii from north-central New Mexico.

Based on the fruits, the taxon described as Abronia nana var. harrisii S. L. Welsh is A. elliptica.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Leaf blades elliptic-lanceolate to elliptic-ovate; inflorescence bracts ovate to oblong-lanceolate, or vestigial
var. nana
1. Leaf blades shortly ovate to oblong-ovate; inflorescence bracts lanceolate
var. covillei
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 66. FNA vol. 4, p. 69.
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. mellifera, A. nana, A. pogonantha, 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. pogonantha, A. turbinata, A. umbellata, A. villosa
Subordinate taxa
A. nana var. covillei, A. nana var. nana
Name authority Torrey ex S. Watson: Botany (Fortieth Parallel), 285, plate 31, figs. 1–5, 8, 9. (1871) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts. 14: 294. (1879)
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