With leafy basal rosettes and either stemless or with short stems, this plant has nearly entire to slightly-lobed, lance-shaped leaves. Note the flower tube in the leaf axils reaches 6-inches long topped with 4 showy yellow petals. Flowers open near sunset and fade the next day to reddish-orange.

FLOWER: May–July. Flower tube 2–6 inches long (5–15 cm) with 4 oval to diamond-shaped petals, each 1 1/4–2 3/8 inches long (3–6 cm); stigma has cross-shaped lobes; buds erect with free tips, often with red stripes; fruit is an oval to elliptic capsule, 1–1 1/4-inches long (25–30 mm), winged for the entire length.

LEAVES: Basal and alternate on short plant stems; petiole (leaf stem) 3/8–2 3/8 inch long (1–6 cm). Blade oval to lance-shaped, 1–6 inches long (3–15 cm); margins entire to lined with shallow, tooth-like lobes; surfaces covered with short, soft hairs.

HABITAT: Gravelly, rocky soils; grasslands, desert scrub, pinyon juniper woodlands.

ELEVATION: 4,000–8,225 feet.

RANGE: AZ, ID, KS, NM, NV, TX.

SIMILAR SPECIES: The yellow flowers and entire or slightly-lobed leaves distinguish this species for other yellow evening primroses.

NM COUNTIES: Mostly southern half of NM in low- to mid-elevation, dry habitats: Dona Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lincoln, Luna, Otero, San Juan, Sandoval, Sierra, Socorro.