J20160915-0049—Oenothera cespitosa—RPBG (29080796153)

Description:

Oenothera cespitosa—tufted evening-primrose. Many (most?) references spell the species name as "caespitosa" but the original publication of the plant description used "cespitosa" and that is the name we should use according to the rules of botanical nomenclature. The species grows throughout the American west, often as a roadside plant in gravelly soils. It is found in California in sandy washes and the like along the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada from the San Bernardino Mountains north to Modoc County. The Hopi and Navajo used the leaves as a tobacco substitute. Photographed at Regional Parks Botanic Garden located in Tilden Regional Park near Berkeley, CA.