Taxon Report

Chylismia arenaria A. Nelson

sand evening-primrose

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Chylismia arenaria, commonly known as sand evening-primrose, is a annual/perennial herb in the Onagraceae that is found in California and elsewhere. It occurs within Sonoran desert scrub (sandy, and rocky), growing at elevations from -70 to 915 meters. Chylismia arenaria is ranked 2B.2, Plants Rare, Threatened, or Endangered in California, But More Common Elsewhere; Moderately threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Chylismia arenaria A. Nelson
Common Name:	sand evening-primrose
Family:	Onagraceae
Element Code:	PDONA03020
USDA Plants Symbol:
Synonyms/Other Names:	Camissonia arenaria

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	annual/perennial herb
Blooming Period: Nov-May	Nov-May
Elevation:	-70-915 (-230-3000)
General Habitats:	Sonoran desert scrub
Microhabitat:
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	2B.2
Global Rank:	G4?
State Rank:	S2S3
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:	changed from 2.2 to 2B.2 on 2013-06-12 changed from 4.3 to 2.2 on 2008-09-30

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	16
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	2
Good (B)	1
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	13

Location


California Endemic: False
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Imperial (IMP), Riverside (RIV), San Bernardino (SBD)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Cibola (3311436), East of Acolita (3311511), Hayfield (3311566), Iris Pass (3311544), Lion Head Mtn. (3311533), Little Chuckwalla Mts. (3311541), Mt. Barrow (3311428), Oasis (3311641), Palo Verde Peak (3311437), Parker (3411423), Picacho SW (3311416), Quartz Peak (3311417), Red Canyon (3311556), Topock (3411464)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	2
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	2	13 %
Agriculture	1	6%
Erosion/runoff	1	6%

Notes



See American Journal of Botany 21(9):575 (1934) for original description, Brittonia 16(3):281 (1964) for revised nomenclature, and Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 37(5):236-237 (1969) for taxonomic treatment.
Threats:
Threatened by vehicles. Possibly threatened by military activities.
Taxonomy:
Similar to C. cardiophylla.

Selected References

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 29 January 2025].