Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Share

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:
Abronia ameliae (Amelia's sand-verbena)
Pyle, Lynn

Abronia ameliae

Abronia ameliae Lundell

Amelia's Sand-verbena, Heart's Delight

Nyctaginaceae (Four O'clock Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: ABAM2

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

This beautiful flower which grows on the sandy prairies of South Texas is not, as the common name implies, a member of the Verbena Family. The plants are branched and sometimes sprawling, and sticky or gummy all over. Stems are coarse and hairy. Leaves are opposite, 1-2 inches long and two-thirds as wide, and wavy on the edges with a stem 1/2-1 1/4 inches long. A flower stem grows out of each pair of leaves. The orchid flowers grow in umbel-like round clusters, 2 inches across with 40 or more individual florets. The florets are 1 inch long, tubular, with 5 petal-like lobes, each deeply cut and very delicate. There are 3-5 stamens. When the flower goes to seed it looks like a cushion filled with pin.

 

From the Image Gallery

23 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Fruit Type: Accessory
Size Notes: Up to about 18 inches tall.
Flower: Flowers in 2 inch heads.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Pink
Bloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Apr , May , Jun

Distribution

USA: TX
Native Habitat: Open woodlands, Roadsides

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Soil Description: Sandy

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Blooms ornamental, Planned landscape, Garden, Showy, Color
Use Wildlife: Nectar-Butterflies, Nectar-Moths, Nectar-insects
Conspicuous Flowers: yes

Propagation

Propagation Material: Seeds
Description: Fall-sown seed

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Austin, TX

Wildflower Center Seed Bank

LBJWC-1010 Collected 2007-04-05 in Brooks County by Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

1 collection(s) available in the Wildflower Center Seed Bank

Bibliography

Bibref 355 - Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest (1991) Miller, G. O.
Bibref 318 - Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Bibref 248 - Texas Wildflowers: A Field Guide (1984) Loughmiller, C. & L. Loughmiller
Bibref 291 - Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife (1999) Damude, N. & K.C. Bender
Bibref 328 - Wildflowers of Texas (2003) Ajilvsgi, Geyata.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Abronia ameliae in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Abronia ameliae in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Abronia ameliae

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-04-18
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back