Participant Info

Species

Oenothera cespitosa [Oenothera caespitosa]

Family

Onagraceae

CommonName

tufted evening primrose

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1911

LatestDate

2023

Ecosystem

foothill, montane, ruderal

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

Cochetopa, North, Poncha, South, Spring Creek

WildlifePreserves

Brown Lakes, Great Sand Dunes

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Saguache Co, Biedell Creek north of La Garita 31 May 2019

Comments

Tufted evening-primrose is a common Oenothera in the Watershed, usually found in dry open foothill country, often along roadsides. There are no collections from the Culebras, but the flower is undoubtedly there, as it has been often collected from the New Mexico Cristos. It is found in every USA state west of the Great Plains, and follows the Rio Grande drainage to the Mexican border. Note that Oenothera cespitosa [or caespitosa] includes a number of intergrading subspecies; the most common in the Watershed is subsp. macroglottis, followed by subsp. marginata and subsp. cespitosa.

Annotation