Dune Unicorn-plant / Center For Plant Conservation
Search / Plant Profile / Proboscidea sabulosa
Plant Profile

Dune Unicorn-plant (Proboscidea sabulosa)

The leaves of this annual are hairy and heart-shaped, while the flowers are tubes of reddish corollas with pale splotches. Photo Credit: Kathy Rice
  • Global Rank: G3 - Vulnerable
  • Legal Status: N/A
  • Family: Martyniaceae
  • State: NM, TX
  • Nature Serve ID: 141702
  • Lifeform: Forb/herb
  • Date Inducted in National Collection: 02/25/1988
Description:

Proboscidea sabulosa is an annual, hairy- and sticky-leaved herb with rounded leaves. Plants are about 0.4 m across and high, with rounded dark green leaves that are very glandular and somewhat pungent. The creamy white, purple spotted flowers grow in clusters under leaves. The woody fruits are large and distinctive, forming two long curved horns at maturity. The large seeds, approximately 1 cm long, are corky. Native Americans used the fruits in basket-making, and pickled the young fruits.

Where is Dune Unicorn-plant (Proboscidea sabulosa) located in the wild?

Habitat:

P. sabulosa grows in deep sands of semi-stabilized dunes in the desert scrub and arid grasslands of the Chihuahuan desert. Found at elevations of 900 to 1,400 meters (3,000 to 4,600 feet). (New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council 1999)

Distribution:

Found in five counties in New Mexico, adjacent Texas, and Mexico, in the Chihuahaun desert. (New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council 1999)

States & Provinces:

Dune Unicorn-plant can be found in New Mexico, Texas

Which CPC Partners conserve Dune Unicorn-plant (Proboscidea sabulosa)?

  • Desert Botanical Garden

    Not Sponsored
    Conservation Actions
    Assigned 06/09/17

  • San Antonio Botanical Garden

    Not Sponsored
    Conservation Actions
    Assigned 09/09/24
    • CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

    Conservation Actions

    Tina Stanley
    • 09/09/2024
      • Seed Collection

    San Antonio Botanical Garden staff recently collected seed of P. sabulosa in the wild.

    • 10/08/2020
      • Orthodox Seed Banking

    Proboscidea is an interesting genus in cultivation. It is reputedly difficult to germinate from seed, and indeed, recent frozen storage tests at Desert Botanical Garden have had disappointing results. However, Proboscidea althaeafolia is being grown in a display garden on the ethnobotanical trail at the Garden with relatively little effort. Seeds are sown directly into the soil with no pre-treatment, and found to germinate readily.

    • 10/08/2020
      • Living Collection

    Proboscidea is an interesting genus in cultivation. It is reputedly difficult to germinate from seed, and indeed, recent frozen storage tests at Desert Botanical Garden have had disappointing results. However, Proboscidea althaeafolia is being grown in a display garden on the ethnobotanical trail at the Garden with relatively little effort. Seeds are sown directly into the soil with no pre-treatment, and found to germinate readily.

    • 10/08/2020
      • Seed Collection

    Proboscidea is an interesting genus in cultivation. It is reputedly difficult to germinate from seed, and indeed, recent frozen storage tests at Desert Botanical Garden have had disappointing results. However, Proboscidea althaeafolia is being grown in a display garden on the ethnobotanical trail at the Garden with relatively little effort. Seeds are sown directly into the soil with no pre-treatment, and found to germinate readily.

    • 10/08/2020
      • Propagation Research

    Proboscidea is an interesting genus in cultivation. It is reputedly difficult to germinate from seed, and indeed, recent frozen storage tests at Desert Botanical Garden have had disappointing results. However, Proboscidea althaeafolia is being grown in a display garden on the ethnobotanical trail at the Garden with relatively little effort. Seeds are sown directly into the soil with no pre-treatment, and found to germinate readily.

    Nature Serve Biotics
    • 05/02/2017

    In 1990, Proboscidea sabulosa was known from 15 occurrences in New Mexico and about 8 in Texas (Sivinski & Cully, 1990). Thorough inventory via access to private property in west Texas during an appropriately wet season might reveal additional locations and provide reasoning for re-ranking to G4.

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Loss of habitat.

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Two populations are reported in west Texas (Sivinski and Cully 1990).

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Proboscidea is an interesting genus in cultivation. It is reputedly difficult to germinate from seed, and indeed, recent frozen storage tests at Desert Botanical Garden have had disappointing results. However, Proboscidea althaeafolia is being grown in a display garden on the ethnobotanical trail at the Garden with relatively little effort. Seeds are sown directly into the soil with no pre-treatment, and found to germinate readily.

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    There is no formal management plan.

    Kathleen C. Rice
    • 01/01/2010

    Needs include population monitoring and understanding aspects of reproductive biology and ecology.

    MORE

    Be the first to post an update!

    Nomenclature
    Taxon Proboscidea sabulosa
    Authority Correll
    Family Martyniaceae
    CPC Number 3640
    ITIS 504616
    USDA PRSA2
    Duration Annual
    Common Names dune Devil's claw | dune unicorn-plant | sanddune unicorn-plant | dune unicorn plant
    Associated Scientific Names Proboscidea sabulosa
    Distribution Found in five counties in New Mexico, adjacent Texas, and Mexico, in the Chihuahaun desert. (New Mexico Rare Plant Technical Council 1999)
    State Rank
    State State Rank
    New Mexico S3
    Texas S2
    Ecological Relationships

    Photos

    The leaves of this annual are hairy and heart-shaped, while the flowers are tubes of reddish corollas with pale splotches. Photo Credit: Kathy Rice

    Donate to CPC to Save this Species

    CPC secures rare plants for future generations by coordinating on-the-ground conservation and training the next generation of plant conservation professionals. Donate today to help save rare plants from extinction.

    Donate Today