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Oenothera avita; photograph James Fowler, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIF CC BYJames Fowler, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIF

Oenothera avita (W.M.Klein) W.E.Klein

California evening primrose

Onagraceae · Arizona, California +3

Cited as Kew's World Checklist cites it, Oenothera avita (W.M.Klein) W.E.Klein: GBIF's backbone key for this page carries the name with another author, (W.M.Klein) W.M.Klein.

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Oenothera avita, photograph Steve Matson, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIFOenothera avita, photograph Steve Matson, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIFOenothera avita, photograph Steve Matson, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIFOenothera avita, photograph Steve Matson, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIFOenothera avita, photograph Abraham Sánchez Romero, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIFOenothera avita, photograph Abraham Sánchez Romero, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIF 24 photographs ›
Habitat figures
Cold floor (1 night in 100)
-5.0°C
Record low -13.4 °C in 44 years, at a typical spot in the range NASA POWER
Warmest month, mean daily high
32°C
Jul and Aug at the habitat CHELSA
Rain a year (median across the range)
325mm
5 months of 25 mm or more in the median year CHELSA
Open-sky light
19–55DLI
Lowest to highest month (DLI) CHELSA
The year in your months, northern hemisphere
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
Wet winters: the rain comes November to March, read as a winter growing season. rain rule, CHELSA
Northern hemisphere unless you set your site. The chart is in the habitat's months.

Summary

Oenothera avita, commonly California evening primrose, is a species of plant from the desert Southwest United States and Baja California. It is a flowering plant in the evening primrose family.

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Oenothera avita", CC BY-SA 4.0.

About the genus · Oenothera

Oenothera is a genus of about 160 species of herbaceous flowering plants native to the Americas. The genus includes the plants known as common evening primrose, narrow-leaved sundrops and white gaura. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. More on Wikipedia ›

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Oenothera", CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cultivation

Seasons

The rain rule reads a winter growing season: 70% of the median year's rain (222 mm of 302 mm) falls in November to March, cooler than the year (wet-season mean 8.0 °C against a yearly mean of 14.9 °C). Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere; shifted six months for a southern-hemisphere collection: May to September.

Rain

302 mm in the median year at the habitat, 222 mm of it November to March. Wettest month February at 57 mm, driest month June at 3 mm; 1 month under 5 mm. Across the grid cells of the range the year's total runs 146 mm to 474 mm, the 10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year. The median of the cells' own yearly totals, 325 mm, is the year's rain at the top of the page; the 302 mm here is the median year's, the twelve monthly medians added, which the rain rule reads. Habitat calendar, northern hemisphere; median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA.

Light

Open sky over the habitat: 19 to 55 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 17, the highest 90th-percentile month 56).

Warmth and air
Temperature

Coldest: the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range is -5.0 °C, the absolute minimum -13.4 °C, 2,462 frost nights in 44 years, 56.0 a year (NASA POWER daily minima). Warmest: the 99th-percentile day is 40.3 °C. Monthly means: the coldest month's mean nightly low 1.1 °C in January and December (across the grid cells of the range -6.6 °C to 5.2 °C), the warmest month's mean daily high 32.1 °C in July (median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). Cold floor: -5.0 °C, which is the 1st-percentile night over 44 years at a typical spot in the range (NASA POWER).

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 41 to 52% across the year (monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

How this section is made

Each card states this species' habitat figures with their sources, and what two fixed rules read from them; nothing here says what the plant does, wants or tolerates. The rules · the terms.

Seasons. Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the grid cells of the range: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve moves 4 °C or more and the habitat lies 10° or more from the equator. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain. CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the grid cells of the range. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light. CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Temperature. NASA POWER daily minima and maxima over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, lapse-corrected -25 m to its elevation; CHELSA monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range. The cold floor is the 1st-percentile night named in its sentence. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity. CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the grid cells of the range.

Climate across the habitat

Habitat months, northern hemisphere

Habitat climate of Oenothera avita through the yearWarmest months July and August, mean daily high 32 °C; coldest months January and December, mean nightly low 1.1 °C; 302 mm of rain in the median year (the twelve monthly medians added). Medians across the range, from CHELSA; the extremes at the edge from NASA POWER. Habitat months, northern hemisphere.-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°50°frost40.3° 99th-percentile day, NASA POWER-13.4° lowest night in 44 years, NASA POWER°C · day and nightcold quarter0255075100125mm rainDLI 19–55RH 41–52%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain medians and 10th–90th percentile across 413 habitat cells, CHELSA cold quarter: the three months around the coldest month's mean nightly low extremes over 44 years at a typical spot in the range, from NASA POWER, marked at the edge, in no month DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C12 / 4–1713 / 6–1716 / 10–2020 / 14–2325 / 19–2829 / 23–3332 / 26–3632 / 26–3528 / 23–3223 / 17–2616 / 10–2012 / 4–16
Night °C1 / -7–52 / -5–64 / -2–86 / 0–1010 / 5–1414 / 9–1818 / 13–2218 / 13–2115 / 10–1810 / 4–135 / -1–91 / -6–5
Rain mm52 / 22–9157 / 21–10146 / 18–7320 / 7–337 / 3–173 / 1–910 / 2–2913 / 3–3610 / 5–2217 / 8–2526 / 12–4441 / 19–72
DLI21 / 19–2427 / 25–2937 / 35–3946 / 44–4852 / 50–5355 / 53–5652 / 50–5347 / 46–4941 / 39–4232 / 29–3423 / 21–2619 / 17–22
RH %50 / 45–5552 / 46–5650 / 43–5647 / 39–5445 / 37–5341 / 34–5041 / 37–4942 / 38–5043 / 39–5045 / 40–5147 / 42–5249 / 44–54
How this section is made
Each figure is the median across the 413 grid cells holding the 1167 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. A dash is a month one or more of those cells has no figure for in the grid (a variable CHELSA does not carry there), so no median is taken rather than one over fewer cells. Extremes and elevation were read at a typical spot in the range, cell 1077:1291 (36.125, -115.425). Over 44 years there: absolute minimum -13.4 °C, 1st-percentile night -5.0 °C, 99th-percentile day 40.3 °C. Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Across the range: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 413 distinct grid cells holding 1167 of the 1167 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1077:1291 (its coldest month's mean nightly low nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 36.00_-115.625, lapse-corrected -25 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 1201 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across the cells of the in-range records placed well enough to read one, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeArizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Mexico Northwest · regions are the level-3 units of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, as Kew's World Checklist records ranges, some under historical names such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia (how).
Map marker34.167, -116.573 · in the densest population, 783 records (56% of those in range)
Kew's description“perennial” · “temperate” · quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Evidence usedThe map marker rests on all 1399 georeferenced records inside the native range; the climate across the range on the 1167 of them placed to within 10 km; the map shows only the 354 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 1 km away. 232 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km, or with no stated accuracy (admitted only as a person's observation to three decimals), and stay on the map but off the climate.
Other GBIF keysRecords also from GBIF's key 10933743 (Oenothera avita (W.M.Klein) W.E.Klein): Kew's file holds it as Oenothera avita (W.M.Klein) W.E.Klein (accepted); 0 records, from GBIF's search API on the day of the build.
How this section is made
The map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population of the 1399 in-range records; it decides nothing. Records outside the native range, living specimens and records marked introduced are not used; which records count.

Photographs

Oenothera avita, photograph 1did not loadOenothera avita, photograph 2did not loadOenothera avita, photograph 3did not loadOenothera avita, photograph 4did not loadOenothera avita, photograph 5did not loadOenothera avita, photograph 6did not load

Photographs: Steve Matson, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIF (4); Abraham Sánchez Romero, CC BY, iNaturalist via GBIF (2).

Similar habitat climate The 6 nearest by mean daily high, mean nightly low and rain, month by month. How.

Stephanomeria exigua Stephanomeria exigua Small wirelettuce Photo: CC BY, Jo RobertsPappostipa speciosa Pappostipa speciosa Desert Needle Grass Photo: CC BY, CK2AZ Hemionitis covillei Pteridaceae Ericameria linearifolia Ericameria linearifolia Narrow-leaf goldenbush Photo: CC BY, klickloEncelia actoni Encelia actoni Acton encelia Photo: CC0, author not statedEricameria cuneata Ericameria cuneata Asteraceae Photo: CC BY, Sarah Dillion

Other Oenothera 59 in the reference

Oenothera acaulis Oenothera acaulis Onagraceae Photo: CC BY, Gabriela CartesOenothera affinis Oenothera affinis Longflower evening primrose Photo: CC BY, Andrea GantzerOenothera albicaulis Oenothera albicaulis Onagraceae Photo: CC0, author not statedOenothera argillicola Oenothera argillicola Shale barren evening primrose Photo: CC BY, Tom FieldOenothera biennis Oenothera biennis Common evening-primrose Photo: CC BY, Andrew ConboyOenothera calcicola Oenothera calcicola Texas beeblossom Photo: CC BY, Michelle W. （鍾偉瑋）Oenothera capillifolia Oenothera capillifolia Berlandier's suncups Photo: CC BY, ashleyrsteelOenothera cespitosa Oenothera cespitosa Tufted evening-primrose Photo: CC0, author not statedOenothera cinerea Oenothera cinerea Woolly beeblossom Photo: CC BY, Sam KieschnickOenothera clelandii Oenothera clelandii Cleland's evening-primrose Photo: CC0, author not statedOenothera coloradensis Oenothera coloradensis New Mexico beeblossom Photo: CC BY, Austin SaundersOenothera curtiflora Oenothera curtiflora Velvetweed Photo: CC BY, Sue Keefer all 60 ›

Names & registers

GBIFPOWOIPNIWFOWikidataWikipedia

The record

Family
Onagraceae
Described by
(W.M.Klein) W.E.Klein
Native to
Arizona, California, Nevada +2
Wild records
1399 in range · 354 open

Every figure here is derived from public data by a stated rule and names its source; nothing about this species is written for its page by a person or by AI, apart from the marked, credited quotations. How →

Where this page came from built 2026-10-22
GBIF species record gbif.species answeredasked 2026-10-22GBIF's key 6428053 is Oenothera avita (W.M.Klein) W.M.Klein; the page links Kew's Oenothera avita (W.M.Klein) W.E.Klein, and the name is cited as Kew cites it
GBIF synonyms gbif.synonyms answeredasked 2026-10-22
GBIF common names gbif.vernacular answeredasked 2026-10-22names fetched 2026-10-22
WCVP native range wcvp.distribution answeredas of 2026-06-04
GBIF occurrence records gbif.occurrences answeredasked 2026-10-22GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.hbdw64, of 2026-10-21; 0 records of GBIF's key 10933743, Oenothera avita (W.M.Klein) W.E.Klein (Kew's file holds it as Oenothera avita (W.M.Klein) W.E.Klein (accepted)): GBIF occurrence search API; 2 records within 1 km of a botanic garden, herbarium or zoo left out (2 at a botanic garden or arboretum; Wikidata's list)
Habitat climate climate answeredasked 2026-10-22
Daily extremes (NASA POWER) climate.extremes answeredasked 2026-10-22NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 36.00_-115.625, lapse-corrected -25 m at 6.5 °C/km
Wikidata wikidata answeredasked 2026-10-22
Wikipedia wikipedia answeredasked 2026-10-22
iNaturalist taxon inat.taxon not asked
iNaturalist photographs, wild inat.photos.wild not asked
iNaturalist photographs, cultivated inat.photos.cultivated not asked
GBIF media gbif.media answeredasked 2026-10-22
OpenAlex papers openalex not askednot yet asked for this reference; a later fill takes the papers from OpenAlex's snapshot

Every source is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, refused, failed, not been asked, or answered twice where one answer is taken (“not taken: two items answered”), and, for a source asked when this page was built, when: the figures are as the source held them that day; a source read from a file (Kew's World Checklist, a GBIF download) says "as of" the file's day instead; a row carried from an earlier build of the page names that build instead. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 37 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.

Cultifolio

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