About Petalonyx linearis Greene
Petalonyx linearis is a species of flowering plant in the family Loasaceae, commonly called the narrowleaf sandpaper plant. It is native to the deserts of eastern California, western Arizona, and northwestern Mexico, where it grows in scrub and other local habitat types. This plant is a rounded, clumpy subshrub, made up of many rough-haired, erect stems that can reach up to one meter in height. The cylindrical stems are evenly lined with leaves that are linear to widely lance-shaped, and measure 1 to 2.5 centimeters long. At the end of each stem is an inflorescence that takes the form of a raceme. This raceme holds many small five-petalled white flowers, and the flowers are surrounded by rounded or oval bracts with pointed, lobed, or notched tips.
