Eremothera boothii – “Woody Bottle Washer”

Also Known As: Booth’s Evening Primrose, Desert Lantern
Other Botanical Names: Camissonia boothii, Oenothera boothii
Family: Evening Primrose (Onagraceae)
Bloom Period: May-Aug
Form: Annual
Habitat: Sandy desert soils
Leaves: Lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, margins occasionally very slightly wavy or lobed; can have purple blotches; mostly basal; upper leaflets narrow and linear
Translation: “Eremothera” is Greek “eremo,” “lonely” + Oenothera, the genus of Primrose (conjunction created by botanist Peter Raven); “boothii” is named after William Beattie Booth (1804-1874), Scottish botanist, gardener and horticulturist, and close friend of famed botanist David Douglas; “Camissonia” is named for Ludolf Karl Adelbert von Chamisso (1781-1838), French-born Prussian botanist, author, Romantic poet, and custodian of the botanical gardens in Berlin; for “Oenothera,” see entry on Dune Primrose.
Notes: The long, flowering stem resembles a bottle-washer and often persists long after the plant dies back. Flowers generally open at dusk rather than dawn.