Oenothera curtiflora |
Oenothera heterophylla |
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lizard-tail, small-flower bee-blossom, small-flower gaura, velvet weed |
variableleaf evening primrose |
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Habit | Herbs annual, strigillose, glandular puberulent, and long-villous; from heavy taproot, 2–4 cm diam. | Herbs annual or short-lived perennial, sparsely to densely strigillose, inflorescence sometimes also sparsely glandular puberulent, villous, or sparsely hirsute with spreading, pustulate-based hairs, or sometimes glabrate. | ||||
Stems | erect, unbranched or many-branched distally, (20–)30–200(–300) cm. |
unbranched or branched mainly in distal part, 25–70 cm. |
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Leaves | in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 4–15 × 1.5–3 cm, petiole 0–1.8 cm, blade broadly oblanceolate, margins sinuate-dentate to dentate; cauline 2–13 × 0.5–5 cm, petiole 0–2 cm, blade narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate, margins sinuate-dentate to dentate. |
in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 7–15 × 1–2.5 cm, cauline 3–13 ×0.4–2.3 cm; blade narrowly oblanceolate to oblanceolate, gradually narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate or elliptic distally, margins deeply lobed to remotely dentate or subentire; bracts longer than capsule they subtend, 1–3 cm. |
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Inflorescences | relatively long, dense. |
dense, often with several lateral branches, mature buds usually overtopping spike apex. |
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Flowers | 4-merous, nearly actinomorphic, opening near sunset; floral tube 1.5–5 mm; sepals 2–3.5 mm; petals white, fading pale to dark pink, slightly unequal, oblong-obovate to elliptic-oblanceolate, 1.5–3 mm, abruptly clawed; filaments 1.5–3 mm, anthers 0.5–1 mm, pollen 85–100% fertile; style 3–9 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis. |
2–several per spike opening per day near sunset; buds erect, with free tips erect or spreading, 1–6 mm; floral tube nearly straight, 25–47 mm; sepals 15–30 mm; petals yellow, broadly elliptic to nearly rhombic, 18–35 mm; filaments 15–30 mm, anthers 3–8 mm, pollen 85–100% fertile; style 45–75 mm, stigma usually exserted beyond anthers at anthesis. |
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Capsules | fusiform, terete, weakly angled in distal 1/3, angles becoming broad and rounded in proximal part, 5–11 × 1.5–3 mm, tapering abruptly toward base; sessile. |
lanceoloid, 13–25 × 2.5–4 mm. |
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Seeds | 3 or 4, reddish brown, 2–3 × 1–1.5 mm. |
brown, often flecked with darker spots, ellipsoid to broadly ellipsoid, 1.1–1.8 × 0.4–0.8 mm. |
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2n | = 14. |
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Oenothera curtiflora |
Oenothera heterophylla |
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Phenology | Flowering (Feb–)Apr–Oct. | |||||
Habitat | Rocky prairie slopes, woodlands, along streams, roadsides, disturbed areas. | |||||
Elevation | 10–2800 m. (0–9200 ft.) | |||||
Distribution |
AL; AR; AZ; CA; CO; FL; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MN; MO; MT; NE; NM; NV; OK; OR; SC; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; WA; WY; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Sinaloa, Zacatecas) [Introduced in South America (Argentina), Asia (China, Japan), Australia]
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s United States |
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Discussion | Oenothera curtiflora is self-compatible and autogamous (P. H. Raven and D. P. Gregory 1972[1973]). Sometimes it is apparently a biennial. The species is native to grassland regions and open areas across much of interior North America. The full extent of its indigenous range is not clear and collections from the eastern half of the United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Tennessee) and California may be more recent introductions. Gaura mollis Nuttall ex Torrey 1827 is an isonym of G. mollis E. James 1822, a suppressed name. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). (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. Gaura > subsect. Schizocarya | Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Oenothera > subsect. Candela | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | Gaura parviflora, G. australis, G. hirsuta, G. micrantha, G. parviflora var. lachnocarpa, Schizocarya micrantha | Raimannia heterophylla | ||||
Name authority | W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 211. (2007) | Spach: Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 4: 348. (1836) | ||||
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