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Howard's evening-primrose

Texas beeblossom

Habit Herbs acaulescent or sometimes caulescent, moderately to densely strigillose and glandular puberulent, sometimes also sparsely to moderately hirsute; from a taproot, sometimes lateral roots producing adventitious shoots. Herbs perennial, clumped, usually sparsely strigillose, rarely glabrate or sparsely villous, hairs erect, sometimes sparsely glandular puberulent distally; from twisted, woody rootstock.
Stems

(when present) ascending, longer ones becoming decumbent, leafy, sometimes densely so, 0–10(–30) cm.

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

Leaves

in a basal rosette, sometimes also cauline, (6–)8.5–17(–23) × (0.5–)1–2(–3) cm;

petiole 2–7.5 cm;

blade usually oblanceolate, elliptic to narrowly oblong, rarely lanceolate, margins often undulate, entire or remotely and irregularly pinnately lobed mostly in proximal 1/2, rarely more regularly pinnately lobed and lobing extending to distal 1/2, sinuses usually extending less than 1/2 to midrib, lobes triangular to oblong or linear, (1–)4–9(–13) mm, apex acute to obtuse.

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.

Inflorescences

slender.

Flowers

usually 1 or 2, rarely more, opening per day near sunset, strongly and sweetly scented;

buds with unequal free tips 1–3(–4) mm;

floral tube (43–)60–110(–125) mm;

sepals (30–)35–60(–80) mm;

petals brilliant yellow, fading deep red, drying deep reddish purple to reddish brown, usually broadly obovate, rarely subrhombic, (30–)40–60(–73) mm, sometimes with a terminal tooth;

filaments (19–)25–38 mm, anthers 10–17 mm;

style(90–)110–145(–165) mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.

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.

Capsules

leathery, ovoid, narrowly ovoid, or narrowly lanceoloid to broadly ellipsoid, winged, wings (2–)4–7(–11) mm wide, body (20–)25–50(–80) × 4–6 mm, dehiscent 1/4–1/3 their length;

pedicel 2–6 mm.

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

Seeds

numerous, usually in 1 row per locule, rarely in 2 rows toward base, obovoid to subcuboid, 3–8 × 2.5–3.5 mm.

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

2n

= 28, 42, 56.

= 14.

Oenothera howardii

Oenothera calcicola

Phenology Flowering May–Jul. Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Open or rocky areas, in shale, fine-textured sandstones, clays, gypsum, or limestone from High Plains grasslands, open sites in pinyon-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine-Douglas fir forests. Dry limestone, gypsum, or caliche soil, slopes.
Elevation (1000–)1500–2300(–3000) m. ((3300–)4900–7500(–9800) ft.) 400–1800(–2100) m. (1300–5900(–6900) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; KS; NV; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX; Mexico (Coahuila, Durango, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Oenotherahowardii is known from three disjunct areas: three collections on the High Plains (Baca and Otero counties, Colorado, and Hamilton County, Kansas); open yucca-juniper grassland, rocky slopes or disturbed areas on shale substrates along the Colorado counties of Boulder, Denver, Jefferson, and Larimer, and just over the state line in Wyoming; and, common to scattered, mostly on rocky slopes but also in shaded canyon sites on fine-textured red sandstones, clays, gypsum, chalky white degraded limestone or limestone in pinyon-juniper woodland to ponderosa pine-Douglas fir forest in southern Utah and eastern Nevada.

A. Nelson intended to publish Lavauxia howardii as a new combination and base it on Oenothera howardii M. E. Jones (1893), which was not validly published at the time, but inadvertently published L. howardii as a new species. Oenothera howardii (A. Nelson) W. L. Wagner is an isonym.

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

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.)

Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Megapterium 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. 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. 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. 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
Synonyms Lavauxiahowardii a. Gaura calcicola
Name authority (A. Nelson) M. E. Jones ex Prain in B. D. Jackson et al.: Index Kew., suppl. 3: 121. (1908) — (as howardi) (P. H. Raven & D. P. Gregory) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 211. (2007)
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