Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Camissonia bistorta is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names southern suncup and California suncup. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in several types of plant community along the coast and in the coastal hills and mountain ranges. This is a hairy annual or perennial herb spreading from a basal rosette with stems reaching up to 80 centimeters long. Leaves are lance-shaped to narrowly arrowhead-shaped and sometimes toothed, and 1 to 12 centimeters in length. Toward the end of the spreading stems are nodding flower clusters of flowers, each flower with four bright yellow petals dotted with red at their bases. At the center are stamens and a protruding, nearly spherical stigma. The fruit is a straight or slightly coiled capsule up to 4 centimeters long.

Plant type

Annual herb

Size

2 - 3 ft Tall

Calscape icon
Color

Yellow, Red

Sun

Full Sun

Ease of care

Moderate

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Site type

Sandy fields or clay soils in grassy places

Plant communities

Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Coastal Strand, Southern Oak Woodland

Bats
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

1 confirmed and 3 likely

Confirmed Likely