Oenothera cespitosa |
Oenothera cavernae |
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fragrant evening-primrose, tuft evening-primrose |
cave evening-primrose, cavedwelling evening primrose |
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Habit | Herbs perennial, acaulescent or caulescent, usually hirsute or villous, usually also glandular puberulent, or exclusively strigillose, rarely glabrous; from stout taproot, sometimes lateral roots producing adventitious shoots. | Herbs winter or spring annual, acaulescent or short-caulescent, glandular puberulent, sometimes also sparsely hirsute; from a taproot. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stems | (when present), usually ascending or decumbent, unbranched or branched from near base, 0–40 cm. |
(when present) 1–several, ascending, usually unbranched, 2–4 cm. |
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Leaves | 1.7–26(–36) × (0.3–)0.5–4.5(–6.5) cm; petiole (0.2–)1.7–11(–14) cm; blade usually oblanceolate to rhombic or spatulate, rarely elliptic, obovate, lanceolate, or linear-oblanceolate, margins irregularly sinuate-dentate, serrate, pinnatifid, lobed, or subentire, apex usually acute to rounded, rarely acuminate. |
primarily in a basal rosette, sometimes also cauline, (0.5–)2.5–13(–19.5) × (0.2–)0.6–2.3(–2.7) cm; petiole 0.5–5.2 cm; blade oblanceolate to elliptic-oblanceolate (in some exceptionally large leaves), margins lyrate-pinnatifid to subentire (in very small ones), apex usually rounded, rarely acute. |
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Flowers | 1–4(–6) per stem opening per day near sunset, with moderate to strong sweet scent with a rubbery background scent; buds usually erect, rarely recurved (during early development); floral tube (20–)40–140(–165) mm; sepals (15–)18–45(–54) mm; petals white, fading rose or rose pink to dark or deep rose purple, or pink to pale or light rose, or lavender, obovate or obcordate, (16–)20–50(–60) mm; filaments (6–)10–30(–35) mm, anthers (6–)9–17(–20) mm; style (45–)60–180(–185) mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis. |
1–3(–10) per stem opening per day near sunset, without noticeable scent; buds sometimes ± recurved before anthesis; floral tube (20–)30–37(–47) mm; sepals 4.5–12 mm; petals white, fading pale pink, (6.5–)8–20(–25) mm; filaments 5.2–7.5(–12) mm, anthers (1.4–)3–4.5(–6) mm; style (24–)35–45(–56) mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis. |
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Capsules | straight, curved, falcate, or sigmoid, usually cylindrical to lanceoloid or ellipsoid, sometimes ovoid, usually obtusely 4-angled, (10–)13–50(–68) × 4–9 mm, tapering to a sterile beak 6–8 mm, valve margins with rows of distinct tubercles to sinuate or nearly smooth ridges, dehiscent 1/3–7/8 their length; pedicel (0–)1–40(–55) mm. |
falcate (especially before maturity), ellipsoid-ovoid to ovoid, obtusely 4-angled, 12–38 × 6–14 mm, tapering to a sterile beak 2–8 mm, dehiscent to 1/2 their length, valve margins with a sinuate ridge or 8–20 nearly distinct tubercles; pedicel 0–10 mm. |
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Seeds | numerous in 1 or 2 rows per locule, usually obovoid, oblong, or triangular, rarely suborbicular, 2.1–3.9 × 1–2.6 mm, embryo 1/5–2/3 of seed volume, surface papillose, reticulate or rarely irregularly roughened; seed collar sealed by a thin membrane, this flat or depressed into raphial cavity, when depressed often splitting, becoming separated from seed collar. |
usually numerous, sometimes as few as 5, in 2 adjacent rows per locule, obovoid, 2.5–3.1 × 1.1–1.4 mm, embryo 1/2 of seed volume, surface minutely papillose to reticulate; seed collar without membrane, producing a large empty cavity, margin irregularly sinuate. |
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2n | = 14, 28. |
= 14. |
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Oenothera cespitosa |
Oenothera cavernae |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–May. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Habitat | Exposed calcareous slopes, crevices in limestone, dolomite, or loose talus, sandy arroyos, sandstone, granitic crevices, volcanic cinders in Mojave Desert or Great Basin scrub communities, rarely in arid juniper woodlands. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | 400–1700 m. (1300–5600 ft.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
w North America; nw Mexico
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AZ; CA; NV |
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Discussion | Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora). Oenothera cespitosa occurs in a wide array of habitats, from grassland, desert scrub, pinyon-juniper woodland, or Arizona chaparral to montane conifer forests, rarely at timberline, at elevations from (450–)800–3370 m. Oenothera cespitosa is self-incompatible (W. L. Wagner et al. 1985; Wagner 2005). Pachylophus nuttallii Spach is an illegitimate name that pertains here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Oenothera cavernae is known from the Arrow Canyon, Las Vegas, and Sheep ranges and the low hills near Arden and Sloan in Clark County, Nevada, eastward along the Grand Canyon to the vicinity of Page, Arizona, and perhaps Washington County, Utah and formerly in Glenn Canyon, and more recently collected in eastern San Bernardino County, California (eastern Clark Mountain Range, and the base of range in Ivanpah Valley). W. L. Wagner et al. (1985) determined O. cavernae to be self-compatible and autogamous. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 10. | FNA vol. 10. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Pachylophus | Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Pachylophus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | Pachylophus cespitosus | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Nuttall: Cat. Pl. Upper Louisiana, no. 53. (1813) | Munz: Leafl. W. Bot. 3: 50. (1941) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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