The perennial flower ''Abronia latifolia'' or ''Abronia arenaria'' is a species of sand-verbena known commonly as the coastal, or yellow sand-verbena. It is native to the west coast of North America, from southern California to the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

. The plant bears attractive neatly rounded heads of small, bright golden flowers. The individual flowers have no petals; rather, they are composed of yellow

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s forming a trumpet-shaped calyx about the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. It bears a small, winged fruit. The plant grows in succulent mats on sand or other coastal substrate. The roots are stout, fusiform and often several feet long. These roots are edible, traditionally eaten by the Chinook Indians. This plant is seen exhibiting psammophory, a method by which plants save themselves from herbivores by attracting sand to their body making them difficult to be eaten. It needs salt water, not fresh water, and will not tolerate extreme drought.

References

Sources

*Munz, Philip A. (2003). ''Introduction to Shore Wildflowers of California, Oregon, and Washington''. Berkeley: University of California Press.

External links

USDA Plants ProfileeFloras Info PageJepson Manual Treatment
latifolia Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) {{Caryophyllales-stub