Oenothera avita subsp. avita

Family: Onagraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Evening primrose is a California native perennial found in the southeastern California desert and Great Basin regions in sandy or gravelly areas, desert scrub, and pinyon/juniper woodlands at elevations of 800 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces soft yellow flowers on slender stems emerging from a grayish-green plant. Growing with erect stems 30 to 60 centimeters tall, it forms dense clusters with a distinctive gray-green appearance. Its leaves are oblong to lanceolate, generally pinnately lobed with both short, appressed and longer, spreading hairs that give the plant a soft, textured appearance. The elongated fruit measures 20 to 80 millimeters in length, contributing to its distinctive desert adaptation.

Habitat: Sandy or gravelly areas, desert scrub to pinyon/juniper or ponderosa-pine woodland

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 800-2500 m

Bioregions: SNE, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Kern, Inyo, Mono, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Plumas, Ventura

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