DescriptionSmall-Flowered Sand Verbena, Great Sand Dunes.jpg
NPS/Patrick Myers
This rare plant generates many visitor questions each summer. Visitors assume the large, lush seedpod is a blossom, but the flowers are actually the tiny white blossoms at the end of succulent, pink tubes.
This verbena looks like it belongs more in a tropical rainforest than a desert - just another hidden surprise at Great Sand Dunes!
The scientific name for this species is Tripterocalyx micranthus. Because this plant is relatively rare, its historical medicinal uses are not well-known. Regional tribes used related Tripterocalyx species as a diaphoretic, sedative, snake bite treatment, and sore throat treatment.
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