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Texas beeblossom

Fendler evening primrose, Hartweg's sundrops

Habit Herbs perennial, clumped, usually sparsely strigillose, rarely glabrate or sparsely villous, hairs erect, sometimes sparsely glandular puberulent distally; from twisted, woody rootstock. Herbs perennial, sometimes suffrutescent, strigillose, glandular puberulent, glabrous, hirtellous, or short-pilose; from a stout taproot.
Stems

erect, branched below and just above ground, branched also proximal to inflorescences, (40–)60–250 cm.

1–many, erect to ascending, unbranched to densely branched, 4–60 cm.

Leaves

in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 3–13 × 0.6–2.5 cm, blade spatulate to oblanceolate, cauline (1–)2.5–12 × 0.1–1 cm, blade linear to narrowly oblanceolate, margins slightly to conspicuously sinuate-dentate.

0.3–6.5 × 0.04–1.2 cm, sometimes fascicles of small leaves 0.1–1.5 cm present in non-flowering axils;

petiole 0–0.2 cm;

blade elliptic, lanceolate, linear, or filiform to ovate or oblanceolate, usually not much reduced distally, proximalmost leaves sometimes obovate to spatulate, base attenuate to obtuse, truncate, or subcordate, sometimes clasping, margins entire or serrate, often undulate, apex acute.

Inflorescences

slender.

Flowers

4-merous, zygomorphic, opening near sunset;

floral tube 3–9 mm;

sepals 6–12 mm;

petals white, fading dark pink to red, slightly unequal, elliptic-obovate, 7–11 mm;

stamens presented in lower 1/2 of flower, filaments 3–7 mm, anthers 2.5–5 mm, pollen 90–100% fertile;

style 9.5–19 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.

usually 1 per stem opening per day in afternoon or near sunset;

buds with free tips 0.5–6 mm;

floral tube 16–50(–60) mm, funnelform in distal 1/2 or less;

sepals 7–28 mm;

petals yellow, fading pale pinkish or pale purple, 10–35 mm;

filaments 4–13 mm, anthers 5–13 mm, pollen 85–100% fertile;

style 25–65(–75) mm, stigma yellow, quadrangular, usually exserted beyond anthers.

Capsules

lanceoloid to narrowly ovoid, narrowly 4-winged, 7–12 × 1.5–2.5 mm, tapered to a sterile stipe 2–5 mm.

6–40 × 2–4 mm, hard, promptly dehiscent throughout their length.

Seeds

(2 or)3 or 4(or 5), light brown or reddish brown, 1.5–2.5 × 0.8–1.3 mm.

obovoid, 1–2.5 mm.

2n

= 14.

= 14, 28.

Oenothera calcicola

Oenothera hartwegii

Phenology Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Dry limestone, gypsum, or caliche soil, slopes.
Elevation 400–1800(–2100) m. (1300–5900(–6900) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas)
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
c United States; sw United States; n Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Oenothera calcicola occurs at mostly higher elevations and more montane areas than other species of subsect. Stipogaura, from the southern Trans-Pecos and Edwards Plateau regions of Texas southward into northern Mexico. P. H. Raven and D. P. Gregory (1972[1973]) determined O. calcicola to be self-incompatible. It is known to form hybrids with O. suffrutescens.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora).

Oenothera hartwegii consists of five intergrading subspecies, which are generally locally common on rocky, sandy, gypsum, or limestone soil in arid to relatively mesic open areas, in southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas, western Oklahoma, Texas (except eastern part), New Mexico, southeastern and east-central Arizona, and in Mexico from Chihuahua, northern Coahuila, and northwestern Tamaulipas south to Aguascalientes. H. F. Towner (1977) found that O. hartwegii is self-incompatible and usually vespertine; two of the subspecies (filifolia and maccartii) open early in the afternoon and are pollinated both day and evening.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Leaves (except proximalmost): blade base truncate or subcordate and clasping; plants densely pubescent with mixture of hair types, but always short-pilose and usually also hirtellous, sometimes also strigillose, especially on leaves, or glandular puberulent distally.
subsp. pubescens
1. Leaves: blade base attenuate or obtuse; plants glabrous, sparsely strigillose, or glandular puberulent.
→ 2
2. Plants usually glabrous throughout, sometimes glandular puberulent on distal parts, especially on ovary.
subsp. fendleri
2. Plants strigillose and/or glandular puberulent, especially on distal parts.
→ 3
3. Plants glandular puberulent throughout, more densely so on distal parts, sometimes also sparsely strigillose on ovary and leaves; leaf blades filiform to narrowly lanceolate.
subsp. filifolia
3. Plants usually strigillose, rarely glandular puberulent; leaf blade narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate, sometimes linear.
→ 4
4. Leaf blades narrowly lanceolate, sometimes linear, margins entire or shallowly and sparsely serrulate, sometimes undulate; plants sparsely to densely strigillose throughout.
subsp. hartwegii
4. Leaf blades usually narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate or oblanceolate, rarely linear, margins subentire or serrulate, usually crinkled-undulate; plants usually sparsely strigillose, sometimes glandular puberulent.
subsp. maccartii
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Gaura > subsect. Stipogaura Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Calylophus > subsect. Salpingia
Sibling taxa
O. acutissima, O. albicaulis, O. argillicola, O. arida, O. arizonica, O. biennis, O. boquillensis, O. brachycarpa, O. californica, O. canescens, O. capillifolia, O. cavernae, O. cespitosa, O. cinerea, O. clelandii, O. coloradensis, O. cordata, O. coronopifolia, O. coryi, O. curtiflora, O. curtissii, O. deltoides, O. demareei, O. dodgeniana, O. drummondii, O. elata, O. engelmannii, O. falfurriae, O. filiformis, O. filipes, O. flava, O. fruticosa, O. gaura, O. gayleana, O. glaucifolia, O. glazioviana, O. grandiflora, O. grandis, O. harringtonii, O. hartwegii, O. havardii, O. heterophylla, O. hispida, O. howardii, O. humifusa, O. jamesii, O. kunthiana, O. laciniata, O. lavandulifolia, O. lindheimeri, O. linifolia, O. longissima, O. macrocarpa, O. mckelveyae, O. mexicana, O. nealleyi, O. neomexicana, O. nutans, O. nuttallii, O. oakesiana, O. organensis, O. pallida, O. parviflora, O. patriciae, O. perennis, O. pilosella, O. platanorum, O. podocarpa, O. primiveris, O. psammophila, O. pubescens, O. rhombipetala, O. riparia, O. rosea, O. serrulata, O. sessilis, O. simulans, O. sinuosa, O. spachiana, O. speciosa, O. stricta, O. suffrutescens, O. suffulta, O. tetraptera, O. texensis, O. toumeyi, O. triangulata, O. triloba, O. tubicula, O. villosa, O. wolfii, O. xylocarpa
O. acutissima, O. albicaulis, O. argillicola, O. arida, O. arizonica, O. biennis, O. boquillensis, O. brachycarpa, O. calcicola, O. californica, O. canescens, O. capillifolia, O. cavernae, O. cespitosa, O. cinerea, O. clelandii, O. coloradensis, O. cordata, O. coronopifolia, O. coryi, O. curtiflora, O. curtissii, O. deltoides, O. demareei, O. dodgeniana, O. drummondii, O. elata, O. engelmannii, O. falfurriae, O. filiformis, O. filipes, O. flava, O. fruticosa, O. gaura, O. gayleana, O. glaucifolia, O. glazioviana, O. grandiflora, O. grandis, O. harringtonii, O. havardii, O. heterophylla, O. hispida, O. howardii, O. humifusa, O. jamesii, O. kunthiana, O. laciniata, O. lavandulifolia, O. lindheimeri, O. linifolia, O. longissima, O. macrocarpa, O. mckelveyae, O. mexicana, O. nealleyi, O. neomexicana, O. nutans, O. nuttallii, O. oakesiana, O. organensis, O. pallida, O. parviflora, O. patriciae, O. perennis, O. pilosella, O. platanorum, O. podocarpa, O. primiveris, O. psammophila, O. pubescens, O. rhombipetala, O. riparia, O. rosea, O. serrulata, O. sessilis, O. simulans, O. sinuosa, O. spachiana, O. speciosa, O. stricta, O. suffrutescens, O. suffulta, O. tetraptera, O. texensis, O. toumeyi, O. triangulata, O. triloba, O. tubicula, O. villosa, O. wolfii, O. xylocarpa
Subordinate taxa
O. hartwegii subsp. fendleri, O. hartwegii subsp. filifolia, O. hartwegii subsp. hartwegii, O. hartwegii subsp. maccartii, O. hartwegii subsp. pubescens
Synonyms Gaura calcicola Calylophus hartwegii, Galpinsia hartwegii, Salpingia hartwegii
Name authority (P. H. Raven & D. P. Gregory) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 211. (2007) Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 5. (1839) — (as hartwegi)
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