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Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Shrubs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Typical habitat: rocky and gravely slopes along washes

General: Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus) is an uncommon plant found usually on rocky hillsides and along washes, but also in heavy mud soils. The plant is an upright shrub growing to about 3-feet tall with stiff stems and stiff, thick, oval leaves with rough surfaces (somewhat like sandpaper). The leaves are coarsely notched.

Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant is an uncommon component of vegetation communities in the Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zones. Around Las Vegas, look for this species in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge.

Family: Loasa (Loasaceae).

Other Names:

Plant Form: Upright shrub.

Height: To about 3 feet.

Parry's Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx parryi)
The other typical habitat: heavy mud soils

Bark: Tan.

Stems: Upright, stiff.

Leaves: Oval (about 1/2- to 1-1/2-inches long, 1/2- to 1-inch across) coarsely toothed. Leaf surface rough; feels like sandpaper.

Flowers: Inflorescence: spike with up to 65 flowers towards the tip. Flowers: cream; petals about 1/2 inch long; stamens originate outside petals and extent beyond them.

Seeds: Fruit: tiny capsule.

Habitat: Rocky hillsides and along washes, but also in heavy mud soils

Elevation: About 2,000 to 6,000 feet

Distribution: Southern California and southern Nevada deserts, to southwestern corner of Utah and northwestern Arizona.

Comments:

Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus) Parry's Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx parryi)
Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus) Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Parry's Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx parryi) Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus) Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus) Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Parry's Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx parryi) Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus) Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus) Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Flowers with long filaments
Shinyleaf Sandpaper Plant (Petalonyx nitidus)
Flower with long filaments, filaments outside petals

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 170826

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