National Collection of Imperiled Plants

CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Photographer:

Dieter Wilken

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Oenothera deltoides ssp. howellii

Family:	Onagraceae
Common Name:	Antioch Dunes evening-primrose
Author:	(Munz) W. Klein
Growth Habit:	Forb/herb
CPC Number:	2995

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Photographer: Dieter Wilken
dwilken[at]sbbg.org
Image Owner: Personal

Oenothera deltoides ssp. howellii is Not Sponsored

Primary custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered Plants is:

Regional Parks Botanic Garden

Oenothera deltoides ssp. howellii

In 1984 a humpback whale beached itself on the dunes in the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. Thousands of people came to see the animal, using the dunes to get the best view and, unfortunately, killing a number of endangered plant species growing there by trampling them to death. One of the species that fared the worst during this time was another National Collection species, Erysimum capitatum var. angustatum. Fortunately for the Antioch Dunes evening primrose, however, the human-caused disturbance actually allowed it to flourish.

This evening primrose is a much-branched perennial herb that produces showy, white flowers from March to September, and has grayish toothed or divided leaves. Because of its beauty, this primrose was chosen to be one of four endangered plants to be depicted in a set of stamps issued in 1979. (USFWS 1979c)

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

California

Habitat

Loose sand and stabilized dunes (USFWS 1978c)

Distribution

Contra Costa Co. California (USFWS 1978c)

Number Left

Seven sites in the 70 acres along the San Joaquin River near Antioch, Contra Costa Co. Only three of these are naturally occurring populations--the other four are reintroduced populations. (Skinner 1997; NatureServe 2001)

Protection

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Global Rank:	G5T1	12/7/1998	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:	LE	10/24/1996	Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	Yes	4/25/1984

State/Area Protection

	State/Area	Rank	Status	Date
	California	S1.1	1

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

� Hawkmoths pollinate this species, and a study by Pavlik et al. (1993) recorded their visits in very low numbers affecting seed set of the plant.
� The seed bank of this species was found to be lower than other species in the Antioch Dunes, which makes it potentially more susceptible to any threat. (Pavlik et al. 1993)
� This species responds positively to fire (USFWS 1987).

Threats

Industrial development
Sand mining
Agricultural conversion
Fire control activities
Off-road vehicles (ORV's)
Exotic invasives
(NatureServe 2001)

Current Research Summary

� Pavlik et al. studied the population biology of this species (Pavlik et al. 1988, 1993; Pavlik 1994)
� A graduate student in Claremont Graduate School (Julie A. Greene) studied the reproductive ecology of this species (Greene 1995).

Current Management Summary

� Recovery work is in progress and two occurrences have been introduced in Sacramento and Contra Costa County. (CDFG 2002)

Research Management Needs

� The Antioch Dunes need to remain protected from activities that would degrade the habitat, and management activities should continue to enhance both endangered plant species that occur on the dunes (Oenothera deltoides ssp. howellii and Erysimum capitatum var. angustatum).

Ex Situ Needs

� Maintain a genetically representative seed bank.

References

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Books (Single Authors)

Skinner, M.W.; Pavlik, B.M. 1997. Inventory of rare and endangered vascular plants of California: Electronic Inventory Update of 1994, 5th edition. Sacramento: California Native Plant Society.

Books (Sections)

Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the U.S., Canada, and Greenland. In: Kartesz, J.T.; Meacham, C.A., editors. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden. Chapel Hill, NC.

Pavlik, B.M. 1994. Demographic monitoring and the recovery of endangered plants. In: Bowles, M.L.; Whelan, C., editors. Recovery and Restoration of Endangered Species. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. p 322-350.

Electronic Sources

CalPhotos. (2002). CalPhotos: Berkely Digital Library Project. University of California, Berkeley. http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/photos/. Accessed: 2002.

CDFG. (2002). California's Plants and Animals, Threatened and Endangered Plants. List and Species Accounts. California Department of Fish and Game, Habitat Conservation Planning Branch. http://www.dfg.ca.gov/hcpb/species/t_e_spp/teplant/teplanta.shtml. Accessed: 2002.

USFWS. (2002). Some Threatened & Endangered Plants Found Mainly in California. Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. http://sacramento.fws.gov/es/plant_spp_accts/acctplant.htm. Accessed: 2002.

Journal Articles

Pavlik, B.M.; Ferguson, N.; Nelson, M. 1993. Assessing Limitations On The Growth Of Endangered Plant-Populations 2. Seed Production And Seed Bank Dynamics Of Erysimum Capitatum ssp. angustatum and Oenothera deltoides ssp howellii. Biological Conservation. 65, 3: 267-278.

USFWS. 1976. Proposed Endangered Status for 1700 U.S. Plants. Federal Register. 41: 24523-24572.

USFWS. 1978. Critical habitat set for two California plants. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 3, 9: 1, 9.

USFWS. 1978. Determination that 11 plant taxa are endangered species and 2 plant taxa are threatened species. Federal Register. 43, 81: 17910-17916.

USFWS. 1978. Furbish Lousewort Among 13 Plant Taxa Newly Listed by Service for Protection. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 3, 5: 1, 7-8.

USFWS. 1979. Regional Briefs--Region 1. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 4, 10: 2.

USFWS. 1979. Regional Briefs--Regions 1 and 2. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 4, 3: 2.

USFWS. 1979. Stamps commemorate endangered flora. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 9, 5: 1.

USFWS. 1980. Antioch Dunes acquired for butterfly and two plant species. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 10, 4: 1, 6-9.

USFWS. 1980. Regional Briefs--Region 1 & 4. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 5, 3: 2.

USFWS. 1987. Regional News--Region 1. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 12, 8: 2-3.

Reports

Greene, J.A. 1995. Three reproductive ecology studies in the narrow endemic Oenothera deltoides ssp. howellii (Onagraceae). Claremont Graduate School. M.A. Thesis.

Pavlik, B.M.; Ferguson, N.; Manning, E.; Barbour, M.G. 1988. Demographic studies of endemic plants at the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. I. Seed production and germination. Report for the Endangered Plant Project California Department of Fish and Game.

Sanguamphai. 1989. 1988 Annual Report on the Status of California's State Listed Threatened and Endangered Plants and Animals. State of California, Department of Fish and Game.

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This profile was updated on 3/4/2010