yellow sand verbena
Abronia latifolia
Nyctaginaceae

This is a cheery little sand dune plant. It's a welcome sight in an area overrun by the hottentot fig, an iceplant. As I was looking this up, I was surprised to find it's in the same family as the bougainvillea. I read somewhere this is the only yellow colored sand verbena; based on a search of Calflora, this looks like it might be true as the others range in color from white to pink to purple.

ps 11/04/10 - Could someone do me a favor and click on the embedded link above to Calflora? I'd like to know whether what I see as a registered user is what the public can access. Thanks!