Oenothera deltoides

Oenothera deltoides is a species of evening primrose known by several common names, including birdcage evening primrose, basket evening primrose, lion in a cage, and devil's lantern. It is native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in sandy habitats from desert to beach.

The plant is grayish with basal, deltoid leaves. The large white flowers turn pinkish as they mature. When the plants die, the stems curl upward and form the "birdcage" for which the common name is derived.

There are five subspecies. One of these, the Antioch Dunes Evening Primrose (ssp. howellii), is a federally listed endangered species known from a few sandy spots in the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge just inland from the San Francisco Bay Area in California.

References 

Roadside plants of Southern California. Thomas J. Belzer. Mountain Press Publishing Company, 1984.

External links
Calflora Database: Oenothera deltoides (Birdcage evening primrose,  Desert lantern, Dune primrose)
Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Oenothera deltoides
UC Photos gallery − Oenothera deltoides

deltoides
Category:Flora of California
Category:Flora of Northwestern Mexico
Category:Flora of the Great Basin
Category:Flora of the Southwestern United States
Category:Flora of the California desert regions
Category:Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
Category:Natural history of the Central Valley (California)
Category:Natural history of the Colorado Desert
Category:Natural history of the Mojave Desert
Category:Night-blooming plants