Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 30, 2026

Epixiphium

Epixiphium wislizeni, commonly known as baloonbush, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. It is the sole species in genus Epixiphium. It is a scrambling or climbing perennial subshrub native to Chihuahua state in northern Mexico and the south western United States where it grows in sand dunes. It has tubular flowers in shades of blue to violet and white and more-or-less triangular untoothed leaves.

Last revised
Jun 30, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
207 w
Citations
4
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Epixiphium
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Epixiphium
Munz (1926)
Species:
E. wislizeni
Binomial name
Epixiphium wislizeni
(Engelm. ex A.Gray) Munz (1926)
Synonyms1
  • Antirrhinum wislizeni (Engelm. ex A.Gray) Tidestr. (1941)
  • Asarina wislizeni (Engelm. ex A.Gray) Pennell (1947)
  • Maurandya wislizeni Engelm. ex A.Gray (1859)

Epixiphium wislizeni, commonly known as baloonbush, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family, Plantaginaceae. It is the sole species in genus Epixiphium. It is a scrambling or climbing perennial subshrub native to Chihuahua state in northern Mexico and the south western United States (Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas) where it grows in sand dunes.1 It has tubular flowers in shades of blue to violet and white and more-or-less triangular untoothed leaves.

The species was first described in 1859 as Maurandya wislizeni. In 1926 Philip A. Munz placed it in a separate genus as Epixiphium wislizeni.21 The species epithet wislizeni commemorates Friedrich Adolph Wislizenus. It is regularly misspelt "wislizenii".

Growing in sand dunes source ↗
References

References

  1. Epixiphium wislizeni (Engelm. ex A.Gray) Munz. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  2. Elisens, Wayne J. (1985), "Monograph of the Maurandyinae (Scrophulariaceae-Antirrhineae)", Systematic Botany Monographs, 5: 1–97, doi:10.2307/25027602, JSTOR 25027602