Bebbia juncea var. atriplicifolia

Bebbia juncea var. atriplicifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Bebbia
Species:	B. juncea
Variety:	B. j. var. atriplicifolia
Trinomial name
Bebbia juncea var. atriplicifolia (A. Gray) I.M.Johnst., 1924.
Synonyms [1] [2]
List Bebbia atriplicifolia(A.Gray) Greene Carphephorus atriplicifoliusA.Gray

Bebbia juncea var. atriplicifolia is variety of sweetbush belonging to the Asteraceae family. It is endemic to the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico, where it commonly grows along fences, forming natural hedges. It is also known as Cape sweetbush. ^[3]

Description

Bebbia juncea var. atriplicifolia is a flowering plant that grows to 6–8 ft (1.8–2.4 m) high, with many stems that have a tendency to hang over other plants. ^[4] Its flowers are orange-yellow with a reportedly pleasant odor. ^[4] It is a composite flower plant with a hispidulous stem that is sometimes glabrous. The leaves are petioled with triangular-ovate blades, 2 to 5 cm (0.79 to 1.97 in) long and 0.6 to 4 cm (0.24 to 1.57 in) wide that are hastately lobed or toothed. The flower heads may be several to numerous, cymose-panicled, with pedicels that are usually stipitate-glandular and hispidulous. The involucre is less pubescent and the phyllaries acute or acuminate. ^[2]

Distribution and habitat

Bebbia juncea var. atriplicifolia is found in sandy soils ^[5] of desert and dry shrub biome in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur, where it is endemic. ^[6]

Taxonomy

The species was originally described as Carphephorus atriplicifolia by Asa Gray in 1861. It was later recategorized as Bebbia atriplicifolia by Asa Gray and Edward Lee Greene in 1885. It is primarily treated as a variety of Bebbia juncea per Asa Gray and I.M.Johnst (1924). The type specimen is from Cabo San Lucas. ^[2]

Gallery

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  Cape sweetbush flowers
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  Cape sweetbush flowers in seed
• 
  Example of a Cape sweetbush hedging along a fence

References

1. "Bebbia juncea var. atriplicifolia (A.Gray) I.M.Johnst". Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 1 July 2025.
2. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Washington, D.C, Smithsonian Institution Press, v23., 1920-1926, Page 1597
3. Citizen science observations for Bebbia atriplicifolia at iNaturalist
4. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Washington, D.C, Smithsonian Institution Press, v1., 1890-1895, Page 72
5. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Washington, D.C, Smithsonian Institution Press, v16., 1912-1916, Page 368
6. "Bebbia juncea var. atriplicifolia (A.Gray) I.M.Johnst". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 1 July 2025.