(Acleisanthes nevadensis)
Acleisanthes is a genus of flowering plants in the Bougainvillea family, Nyctaginaceae. There are currently 16 species. The generic name is derived from the Greek words --------- (akleistos), meaning "not closed," and ----- (anthos), meaning "flower." Plants of this genus are known commonly as trumpets due to the elongated, open-ended shape of their flowers. These are arid-adapted perennials with thick taproots which are usually compact and low to the ground or slightly ascending. An individual plant may have cleistogamous (unopening and self-pollinating) flowers as well as opening flowers which are usually nocturnal as a water-saving adaptation and are pollinated by night-flying or crepuscular insects such as hawkmoths. Flowers are usually white, sometimes yellow. These plants are native to the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts of Mexico and the United States.