Abronia umbellata (Pink sand verbena)

Abronia umbellata Lam.

Pink sand verbena

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Caryophyllales	Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants
Family	Nyctaginaceae	Plants with unique fruits (“anthocarps”) and large pollen grains
Genus	Abronia	Sand-verbenas or wild lantanas
Species	umbellata	Means umbel-shaped flowerheads

About plant names...

Like its cousin yellow sand verbena, pink sand verbena grows in loose beach sand and dunes, along the west coast of North America, between southern CA and Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is native to this region. The neat round “flowers” are really bracts (modified leaves)—the plant does not have petals. These plants are less than 6" (15 cm) in height. Pink sand verbena is the first Californian flower described by science, back in 1786.

2/26/2010 · Torrey Pines State Park, La Jolla, California
≈ 21 × 14" (54 × 36 cm)

2/26/2010 · Torrey Pines State Park, La Jolla, California
≈ 10 × 7" (26 × 17 cm)

	You are here Abronia umbellata	*Abronia villosa*
Common Name	pink sand verbena	desert sand verbena
Plant	Less than 6" (15 cm) high, spreading in mats.	Less than 6" (15 cm), in mats up to about 20" (50 cm) wide.
Flowers	Pink to purple, with white centers.	Magenta, purple to pink. Sweet-smelling. Centers are not white.
Leaves	Thick, succulent, oval or diamond-shaped.	Dull gray-green, oval-shaped.
Stem	Often hairy.	Very hairy, sticky.
Range/ Zones
Type	Wild	Wild

Identification: The small ball-shaped flowerheads are typical of verbenas. These salt-tolerant plants are common on beaches in their range. While yellow sand verbena is found within about 200' (60 m) of the ocean, pink sand verbena occurs further inland as well. This species looks similar to desert sand verbena (see above), but it is not found in true desert regions. An endangered variety, Abronia umbellata ssp. breviflora, also looks similar.

Online References:

Abronia umbellata on Wikipedia

Abronia umbellata on Calflora

Abronia umbellata at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Abronia umbellata on Turner Photographics' Wildflowers site

Abronia umbellata on eFloras

Abronia umbellata description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 4 Dec 2020.

Range:

About this map...