desert wishbone-bush

Mirabilis laevis (Benth.) Curran

Mirabilis laevis, known as desert wishbone-bush, is a flowering plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. It is native to the Southwestern United States and northwest Mexico, including Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and parts of Mexico. The species was first described in 1844 as Oxybaphus laevis by Bentham, later transferred to the genus Mirabilis by Curran in 1888. A specimen collected in 1841 by Hinds and deposited in K (barcode K 000572664) was designated as the lectotype in 1991 by Spellenberg.

Description

The original description of Oxybaphus laevis by Bentham included a short account and a reference to the Bay of Magdalena. The single specimen from the H. M. S. Sulphur expedition, collected in 1841, was initially labeled as holotype but was later recognized as a syntype under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN). It was formally designated as the lectotype due to being the only known original material. The species is now aligned with the current taxonomic understanding of Mirabilis as presented in resources such as the Jepson Flora Project and Spellenberg’s work.