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.

Bark: Tan.

Stems: Upright, stiff.

Leaves: Oval (about 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches long, 1/2 to 1 inches 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 extent beyond petals.

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.

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