Wishbone-Bush or Wishbone Plant, Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa
Wishbone-Bush or Wishbone Plant, Mirabilis laevis var. villosa

Wishbone-Bush

If you find yourself in a sandy wash with a shrub with attractive green leaves and white flowers and you wonder what it is, check the branches. If they look like wishbones, chances are they are wishbones.

One important thing to know about a Wishbone Bush is how striking its bright green leaves and white or pink flowers appear in a sandy, rocky wash. The colors could be taken from a bright, sunny kitchen in your home. This is a plant to photograph and remember.

In San Diego County, there are three varieties of Wishbone-Bush, which San Diego State University and the San Diego Natural History Museum list as Wishbone Plant. The names given above now replace M. californica and M. bigelovii, which may be used in your flower books.

West of Anza-Borrego, Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia, the Coastal Wishbone Plant, usually has pink flowers.

Family, Nyctginaceae.

Photo of a white Wishbone Bush flower

Wishbone-Bush or Wishbone Plant, Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa Wishbone-Bush or Wishbone Plant, Mirabilis laevis var. villosa

Wishbone-Bush or Wishbone Plant, Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa
Wishbone-Bush or Wishbone Plant, Mirabilis laevis var. villosa