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high-plains beeblossom, woolly beeblossom

Habit Herbs perennial (short-lived or, sometimes, suffrutescent) or annual, glabrous or strigillose; from a stout taproot. Herbs suffrutescent, densely soft-villous, hairs mostly appressed, 2–3 mm, becoming less villous distally, also strigillose, rarely glandular puberulent or hispidulous, plant parts grayish green; from deep, twisted, woody rootstock.
Stems

1–many, weakly decumbent to ascending or erect, unbranched to moderately branched, (10–)25–80 cm.

erect, several-branched near ground, also branched proximal to inflorescences, 60–280 cm.

Leaves

1–9 × (0.1–)0.3–1 cm, sometimes fascicles of small leaves to 2 cm present in non-flowering axils;

petiole 0–0.6 cm;

blade linear to narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate, often folded lengthwise, usually not much reduced distally, proximalmost leaves sometimes spatulate, base attenuate, margins subentire or serrulate or spinulose-serrate, apex acute.

in a basal rosette and cauline, 0.5–8 × 0.15–2 cm, sessile, blade narrowly lanceolate or oblanceolate to very narrowly elliptic or linear, margins usually subentire or shallowly sinuate-dentate, sometimes deeply sinuate-dentate, often undulate.

Inflorescences

slender.

Flowers

opening at sunrise;

buds with free tips 0–4 mm;

floral tube 5–20 mm;

sepals 4–12 mm, midribs keeled;

petals yellow, fading orangish to purplish, 6–25 mm; antisepalous filaments 2–8 mm, antipetalous filaments 1–4 mm, anthers 2–7 mm, pollen 90–100% fertile;

style 9–30 mm, stigma sometimes blue-black, discoid to quadrangular, exserted beyond anthers.

4-merous, zygomorphic, opening near sunset;

floral tube 1.5–5 mm;

sepals 6–14 mm;

petals white, fading pink to red, slightly unequal, elliptic, 7–13 mm, clawed;

stamens presented in lower 1/2 of flower, filaments 4.5–11 mm, anthers 2–4.5 mm, pollen 90–100% fertile;

style 9–19 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.

Capsules

10–35 × 1–2 mm, hard, dehiscent 1/2 their length, often tardily dehiscent throughout their length.

lanceoloid to narrowly ovoid, 4-winged, 9–19 × 1–3.5 mm, abruptly constricted to a long, sterile stipe 2–10 mm.

Seeds

obovoid, 1–1.8 mm, sharply angled, apex truncate.

(1 or)2–4, 2–3(–4) × 0.8–1.3 mm, yellowish to light brown or rarely reddish brown.

Oenothera capillifolia

Oenothera cinerea

Distribution
c United States; sc United States; n Mexico
from USDA
sc United States
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Oenothera capillifolia is self-incompatible (H. F. Towner 1977).

Oenothera berlandieri (Spach) Steudel 1841, not D. Dietrich 1840, is superfluous and cannot be used in Oenothera when transferred from Calylophus, and pertains here.

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

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

P. H. Raven and D. P. Gregory (1972[1973]) determined Oenothera cinerea to be self-incompatible. The two subspecies recognized here have disjunct distributions but are very similar morphologically.

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

Key
1. Stems 1–several, ascending to erect, 30–80 cm; leaves 2.5–9 cm.
subsp. capillifolia
1. Stems several–many, decumbent to ascending, (10–)25–40 cm; leaves 1–4 cm.
subsp. berlandieri
1. Herbs soft-villous, also strigillose or glandular puberulent.
subsp. cinerea
1. Herbs soft-villous, also hispidulous.
subsp. parksii
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Calylophus > subsect. Calylophus Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Gaura > subsect. Stipogaura
Sibling taxa
O. acutissima, O. albicaulis, O. argillicola, O. arida, O. arizonica, O. biennis, O. boquillensis, O. brachycarpa, O. calcicola, O. californica, O. canescens, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
O. capillifolia subsp. berlandieri, O. capillifolia subsp. capillifolia
O. cinerea subsp. cinerea, O. cinerea subsp. parksii
Synonyms Meriolix capillifolia Gaura cinerea
Name authority Scheele: Linnaea 21: 576. (1848) (Wooton & Standley) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 211. (2007)
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