Oenothera cespitosa subsp. crinita

Cespitose evening-primrose, Cespitose Evening-Primrose

Family: Onagraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Cespitose evening-primrose is a native perennial found in the Mojave Desert, eastern Sierra Nevada, and Modoc Plateau in bristlecone-pine forest, pinyon and juniper woodland, and desert scrub at elevations of 1,150 to 3,370 meters. Flowering from June to September, this plant produces delicate petals that fade from white to rose and purple in large blossoms with long hypanthiums up to 85 millimeters long. Growing in loosely to densely clustered formations with distinctive cespitose growth habit, it forms spreading clumps with multiple stems. Its leaves are generally arranged in rosettes, creating a compact and somewhat sprawling appearance across rocky, calcium-rich soils. The fruit is uniquely S-shaped, measuring 10 to 34 millimeters long, with small seeds approximately 3 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Calcium soils in bristlecone-pine forest, pinyon/juniper woodland, desert scrub

Bloom period: Jun-Sep

Elevation: 1150-3370 m

Bioregions: MP (Likely), SNE, D

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