Linanthus Dichotomus, Evening Snow

The white flowers of linanthus dichotomus tend to open late in the afternoon, and remain open through the night, hence its common name of evening snow. Plants are widespread in many parts of California, the range extending to west Arizona, east Nevada and a small part of southwest Utah.

Leaves, stem and calyces are hairless. Leaves are mainly basal, colored green or red, and are divided into a few narrow, linear lobes, blunt at the tips. The calyx is around half an inch long, divided almost to the base into five narrow, spine-tipped lobes, with a thin membrane in between, the membrane wider than the lobes. The funnel-shaped corolla has a pale yellow throat, and five spreading white lobes, striped with purple underneath. The stamens are attached within the corolla tube, not easily visible from above.

Plants that have flowers open all day, found in the northern California coastal ranges, are ssp meridianus; the remainder are either ssp dichotomus, the most common variety, with corollas up to 1.3 inches long, or ssp pattersonii, with smaller flowers, the corolla less than 0.6 inches.