Pink sand verbena facts for kids

The pink sand verbena (scientific name: Abronia umbellata) is a beautiful flowering plant. It grows naturally in western North America. People also call it the beach sand verbena or purple sand verbena. This plant lives for about one year.

Quick facts for kids Pink sand verbena
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Nyctaginaceae
Genus:	Abronia
Species:	A. umbellata
Binomial name
Abronia umbellata Lam. 1793
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Synonyms
List Abronia californica Raeusch. Abronia glauca Menzies ex Hook. Abronia rosea Hartw. ex Loudon Abronia rotundifolia C.F.Gaertn. Tricratus admirabilis L'Hér. ex Willd. Tricratus admirabilis Pritz. Abronia acutalata Standl. Abronia breviflora Standl.

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Where the Pink Sand Verbena Grows

This plant loves sandy, well-drained soil. It grows best in places that do not get much rain. After winter rains, it can spread out like a colorful carpet.

The pink sand verbena can handle living near the ocean. You can find it along the west coast of North America. Its range stretches from British Columbia, Canada all the way to Baja California, Mexico. It often grows on beaches and sand dunes. This plant usually blooms for most of the year.

What the Pink Sand Verbena Looks Like

Abronia umbellata is a low-growing plant. It has thick, juicy leaves. These leaves can be oval or diamond-shaped. Its stems are often hairy and can be as long as the leaves.

The flowers are pink to purple with white centers. They grow in clusters. Each cluster has 5-8 small, pointed leaves underneath it. The flowers do not have true petals. Instead, their outer parts (called calyx lobes) are split. This makes them look like they have 10-16 petals. The bright part of the flower can be purplish-pink. The tube part can be green or red. It is always covered in tiny hairs. Inside the tube, there is one pistil and three stamens.

This plant often mixes its genes with other Abronia species. One example is A. maritima. Its flowers smell sweet at night. This scent helps to attract moths. The leaves can fall off if the plant is stressed by its environment. People sometimes use this plant in California for native plant gardens.

How the Pink Sand Verbena Came to Europe

The pink sand verbena was first described in 1793. A French botanist named Jean-Baptiste Lamarck gave it its scientific name. Seeds of this plant were collected in 1786. This happened in Monterey, California. A gardener named Jean Nicolas Collignon collected them. He was part of the French La Pérouse expedition. This group was exploring the Pacific Ocean.

Sadly, Collignon and his shipmates were lost in a shipwreck. This happened near Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands. But some of his plant collection had already been sent back to France. This happened during a stop in Portuguese-held Macao. The A. umbellata seeds were planted at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Lamarck later named the plants that grew from these seeds A. umbellata. This made it the first Californian flower to be scientifically described. It was done in the style of Linnaeus. This plant does not grow naturally outside of western North America.