Eremothera minor

Nelson's evening-primrose

Family: Onagraceae · Type: annual · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Nelson's evening-primrose is a rare (CNPS 2B.3) California native annual found in the Modoc Plateau's Wendel and Surprise Valley regions in sandy slopes and sagebrush scrub at elevations around 1,200 meters. Flowering from April to July, this plant produces white flowers that fade to reddish, emerging delicately from the plant's base. Growing with slender erect stems 3 to 30 centimeters tall that have a distinctive peeling characteristic, the plant appears generally reddish with a dense, minute grayish strigose covering. Its leaves range from 5 to 45 millimeters long, primarily oblanceolate with uppermost leaves becoming linear and nearly entire. The plant produces elongated fruits 15 to 25 millimeters long, which are slightly cylindrical, twisted, and wavy.

Habitat: Sandy slopes, flats, sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: Apr-Jul

Elevation: +- 1200 m.

Bioregions: MP (Wendel, Surprise Valley)

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