Single Record

Participant Info

Species
Oenothera pallida [Oenothera trichocalyx] [Oenothera runcinata] [Oenothera albicaulis var. runcinata] etc.
Family
Onagraceae
CommonName
pale evening-primrose
Presence
Yes
Status
native
EarliestDate
1897
LatestDate
2023
Ecosystem
basin, shrubland, foothill
Geobotanical
NCristos, UBasin
Counties
Alamosa, Conejos, Rio Grande, Saguache
Passes
WildlifePreserves
Baca, Blanca Wetlands, Great Sand Dunes, San Luis Lakes
Other Localities
Comments
In the Watershed almost all of the many records of Oenothera pallida are from the Upper Basin on the east side. Two anomalous records need to be confirmed (Terrace Reservoir in Conejos Co and Del Norte Ranger Station in Rio Grande Co). A third record is from Del Norte, Rio Grand Co). O. pallida is a Central and Northern Rockies and Great Basin evening-primrose that follows the Rio Grande drainage through New Mexico almost to the Big Bend of Texas. Note that O. pallida has many subspecies or varieties, with much intergrading of features. In the Watershed, the Upper Basin vouchers have been determined as subsp. trichocalyx or subsp. runcinata, most of them the latter. Note that in the Watershed, O. pallida subsp. trichocalyx can be mistaken for O. albicaulis . The surest way to distinguish them is by their capsules (seedpods). That of O. pallida subsp. trichocalyx is covered with long hairs and more or less round in cross section. That of O. albicaulis is much less hairy and four-angled in cross section.