Chylismia walkeri subsp. tortilis

Family: Onagraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Walker's sun cup is a California native perennial found in western Inyo and northeastern San Bernardino counties, growing in rocky places near cliffs and ephemeral streams from creosote-bush scrub to pinyon and juniper woodland at elevations of 600 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces bright yellow flowers 3 to 6 millimeters long that open at dawn, with distinctive purple-dotted sepals. Growing 10 to 60 centimeters tall with spreading hairs and an erect habit, it forms a short-lived perennial herb with generally basal leaves. Its leaves are simple to twice-pinnate, typically 30 to 220 millimeters long and marked with distinctive purple dots, with lateral leaflets less than 30 millimeters in length. The fruit is an ascending or spreading cylindric capsule 10 to 45 millimeters long, often with slightly twisted valves.

Habitat: Rocky places near cliffs, along ephemeral streams, creosote-bush scrub to pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 600-1800 m

Bioregions: W&ampI, n DMoj (Inyo, ne San Bernardino cos.)

California counties: Inyo, San Bernardino, Mono, Mariposa, Riverside

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.