Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Camissonia californica is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name California suncup. It is native to California, Arizona, and adjacent northwestern Mexico, where it grows in scrub and chaparral plant communities. This is an annual herb which produces a basal rosette of leaves and then bolts a slender, erect stem which can exceed 1.5 meters in height. The larger leaves are located in the ground-level rosette; those on the stem are small and thready. The upper stem is an flower cluster bearing widely spaced flowers on long pedicels. Each flower is a cup of four bright yellow petals, sometimes with red speckles near the bases. Behind the flowers are four smaller sepals, which are greenish and reflexed back against the pedicel. The fruit is a cylindrical capsule 4 to 10 centimeters long.

Plant type

Annual herb

Size

0.8 - 59 in Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow, Red

Sun

Full Sun

Sunset Zones

7*, 8*, 9*, 10*, 11*, 12*, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Site type

Open places

Plant communities

Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Foothill Woodland, Valley Grassland

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

1 confirmed and 4 likely

Confirmed Likely

Kern primrose sphinx

Euproserpinus euterpe

Phaeton Primrose Sphinx Moth

Euproserpinus phaeton

Clark's Day Sphinx Moth

Proserpinus clarkiae