Yellow Sand Verbena (Abronia latifolia)

North Trail, Cape Lookout State Park, OR, 7/2020.

One of two species of sand verbena native and unique to the Pacific coast (the other is Pink Sand Verbena, A. umbellata), which blooms all summer and into the fall.The beach at Cape Lookout was dotted with large  mats of these plants in July, bright enough even in the blazing sun.  The sturdy stalk holds a head of trumpet shaped flowers. The thick rounded leaves were often set vertically, seeming to hold the sand against the eroding winds.

Cape Lookout State Park, OR, 7/2020.

Cape Lookout State Park, OR, 7/2020.

Cape Lookout State Park, OR, 7/2020.

North Trail, Cape Lookout State Park, OR, 7/2020.