Oenothera howardii
Oenothera neomexicana
Howard's evening-primrose
New Mexico evening-primrose
(when present) ascending, longer ones becoming decumbent, leafy, sometimes densely so, 0–10(–30) cm.
erect or ascending, unbranched or branched, 30–60 cm.
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, rosette weakly developed or absent, at least during flowering, 3–9 × (0.6–)1–2.5 cm;
petiole 0–2 cm;
blade oblong to lanceolate or narrowly ovate, margins irregularly sinuate-dentate.
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.
1–several opening per day near sunset;
buds nodding, weakly quadrangular, with free tips 0.5–4 mm;
floral tube 30–50 mm;
sepals 20–30 mm, not spotted;
petals white, fading pink, broadly obovate, 20–30 mm;
filaments 10–15 mm, anthers 8–15 mm;
style 50–70 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.
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.
erect or strongly ascending, not woody, straight or slightly curved, subcylindrical, obtusely 4-angled, tapering gradually from base to apex, 20–30 × 2–3 mm;
sessile.
numerous, usually in 1 row per locule, rarely in 2 rows toward base, obovoid to subcuboid, 3–8 × 2.5–3.5 mm.
numerous, in 1 row per locule, dark brown, narrowly obovoid, 1.5 mm.
= 28, 42, 56.
= 14.
Oenothera howardii
Oenothera neomexicana
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 neomexicana is known from central to western New Mexico west of the Rio Grande Valley, except for the Organ Mountains, and eastern and central Arizona from the White Mountains south to Mount Graham and northwestward across the Mogollon Rim in Coconino and Yavapai counties. Oenothera neomexicana had been assumed to be self-incompatible (W. L. Wagner et al. 2007), but K. E. Theiss et al. (2010) determined one population sampled to be consistently self-compatible.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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