Wishbone Bush
Mirabilis laevis var. villosa
Color: White to pale pink
Common name: Wishbone Bush
Latin name: Mirabilis laevis var. villosa was Mirabilis bigelovii var. bigelovii
Family: MIRABILIS
Height: <2.6 feet
Description: Mirabilis laevis var. villosa is a low rounded shrub with generally glandular-hairy stems and widely funnel-shaped, white to pale pink flowers
Leaf: The leaves are egg-shaped to kidney-shaped with hairs that have minute spheric bodies on the tips.
Range: White and Inyo Mountains, Desert
Habitat: Rocky places
Elevation: < 2300 m.
Flowering time: Spring to early summer
Notes: Mirabilis laevis var. villosa, a dicot, is a perennial herb that is native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North America. Distribution outside California: to Utah, Arizona, nw Mexico. Can be evergreen and bloom almost year-round in the garden with supplemental summer water. This photo was taken on May 22, 2004 Hesperia, San Bernardino County, California.
We have an online wildflower field guide that is designed to help you identify desert wildflowers by color, scientific name, region and common name. The pictures are sized to work on the iPod, iPhone, iPad and similar devices. With your iPod or phone you will easily be able to identify wildflowers while in the desert. Links for downloads are on the bottom of the Wildflower Field Guide page.
Photo tips: Most digital point-and-shoot cameras have a macro function - usually symbolized by the icon of a little flower. When you turn on that function, you allow your camera to get closer to the subject, looking into a flower for example. Or getting up close and personal with a bug. More on desert photography.
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