Oenothera refracta S. Watson, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 17: 373. 1882; Camissonia refracta (S. Watson) P. H. Raven; O. deserti M. E. Jones; Sphaerostigma deserti (M. E. Jones) A. Heller; S. refractum (S. Watson) Small

Herbs sparsely strigillose, some­times also glandular puber­ulent, especially in inflorescence. Stems usually well branched from base and distally, 6–45 cm, flowering only distally. Leaves cauline, with lower ones clustered near base and these often withered by flowering, 2–6(–8) × 0.1–0.8 cm; petiole 0–2 cm; blade narrowly lanceolate to narrowly elliptic-lanceolate or narrowly oblanceolate, those distally on stems usually linear to linear-lanceolate, margins usually sparsely and weakly denticulate, sometimes sinuate-toothed. Inflorescences nodding. Flowers opening at sunset; floral tube 4–7 mm, villous in proximal 1/2 inside; sepals 4–6 mm; petals white, fading pinkish, 3.5–10 mm; episepalous filaments 2–4.5 mm, epipetalous filaments slightly shorter, anthers 1.5–2.5 mm; style 9–13 mm, villous proximally, stigma 1–1.5 mm diam., exserted beyond anthers at anthesis. Capsules narrowly cylindrical throughout, spreading or reflexed, straight to ± contorted, terete, 20–50 × 0.7–1 mm, regularly but tardily dehiscent. Seeds monomorphic, gray, 0.9–1.5 × 0.4–0.5 mm, finely reticulate. 2n = 14.

Flowering Mar–May. Sandy desert slopes and flats; -30–1700 m; Ariz., Calif., Nev., N.Mex., Utah.

Eremothera refracta is known from Esmeralda, southern Nye, and Clark counties in Nevada, Washington County in Utah, south throughout the Mojave and Colorado deserts of Inyo, San Bernardino, Imperial, central and eastern Riverside, and eastern Kern and San Diego counties in California, Mohave, Yuma, and western Pima counties in Arizona, and a single collection well east of normal range has been seen from Hidalgo County in New Mexico (east of Lordsburg, Jones in 1930, POM). P. H. Raven (1969) determined E. refracta to be self-incompatible.