General: Birdcage Evening Primrose (Oenothera deltoides) is an annual forb that blooms in the spring with big, white, 4-petal flowers. The plant begins as a basal rosette of oval to oblong leaves, then spreads out and up, eventually dying and curling up into a "birdcage" that blows away like a tumbleweed spewing seeds across the landscape.

In the southern deserts, this species of Evening Primrose is recognized by (in this order): white flowers, nodding buds, and annual life cycle; and if present, fresh spreading stems that spread out along the ground rather becoming bushy. The most similar species, California Evening Primrose, is a perennial that has stems that are upright and bushy.

Birdcage Evening Primrose is a fairly common component of vegetation communities in dry, well-drained sandy areas on flats and into the lower mountains in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats), and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones.

Around Las Vegas, look for Birdcage Evening Primrose in sandy places such as in the Mojave National Preserve, Gold Butte National Monument, Red Rock Canyon NCA, and Valley of Fire State Park.

Family: Evening Primrose (Onagraceae)