Eulobus californicus

California primrose

Family: Onagraceae · Type: annual · Native

California primrose is a native annual herb found in the Sonoma Coast Ranges, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast Ranges, southwestern California, and desert regions in open places within coastal-sage scrub, chaparral, and desert scrub at elevations below 1,300 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces pale yellow to yellow flowers with petals 6 to 14 millimeters long. Growing with erect, straight stems 20 to 180 centimeters tall that are slender and slightly glaucous or green, it develops a well-formed basal rosette. Its leaves are narrowly elliptic, dramatically pinnately lobed with irregular sharp edges, becoming much smaller toward the stem's upper portions. The fruit is a distinctive cylindrical pod that dries to a four-angled shape, reaching 45 to 110 millimeters long and reflexed from the stem.

Habitat: Open places in coastal-sage scrub, chaparral, desert scrub

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: < 1300 m

Bioregions: NCoRO (Sonoma Co.), SnJV (Fresno Co.), SCoR, SW, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside, Kern, Imperial, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, San Benito, Kings, Orange, Mendocino, Inyo, Mono, Monterey

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