Oenothera laciniata
Oenothera arizonica
cut-leaf evening-primrose, southern evening primrose
California evening primrose
erect to ascending, unbranched to much branched, 5–50 cm.
ascending to erect, with decumbent branches, thickened at base, tapering toward apex, 10–35(–60) cm.
in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 4–15 × 1–3 cm, cauline 2–10 × 0.5–3.5 cm;
blade green, narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic or narrowly oblong, margins usually dentate or deeply lobed;
bracts spreading, flat.
in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 5–10(–26) × 0.6–1.5(–3.5) cm, cauline 5–8(–15.5) × 1–2 cm;
petiole 0–12 cm;
blade lanceolate to oblanceolate, margins pinnatifid or sometimes coarsely serrate.
usually 1 opening per day near sunset;
buds erect, with free tips erect, 0.3–3 mm;
floral tube 12–35 mm;
sepals 5–15 mm;
petals yellow, fading orange or reddish tinged, broadly obovate or obcordate, 5–22 mm;
filaments 3–14 mm, anthers 4–5 mm, pollen ca. 50% fertile;
style 20–50 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis.
1–several opening per day near sunset;
buds nodding, weakly quadrangular, without free tips;
floral tube 26–31 mm;
sepals 19–26 mm, conspicuously maroon-spotted, each spot at base of a long hair;
petals white, fading pink to deep pink, broadly obovate or obcordate, 16–26(–36) mm;
filaments 9–15 mm, anthers 7–9 mm;
style 45–50 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.
cylindrical, sometimes slightly enlarged toward apex, 20–50 × 2–4 mm.
spreading, woody in age, curved upward, or distal end recurved, cylindrical, obtusely 4-angled, especially toward base, tapering gradually from base to apex, 30–80 × 2.5–3.5 mm;
sessile.
ellipsoid to subglobose, 0.9–1.8 × 0.4–0.9 mm.
numerous, in 1 row per locule, light brown to yellowish brown with dark purple splotches, obovoid, 1.6–2 mm.
= 14.
= 14.
Oenothera laciniata
Oenothera arizonica
Oenothera laciniata is a PTH species and forms aring of 14 chromosomes in meiosis, and is self-compatible and autogamous (W. Dietrich and W. L. Wagner 1988).
Oenothera laciniata is known in New Mexico from Doña Ana and Roosevelt counties from non-montane habitats and thus do not appear to represent O. pubescens; however, a few collections from Brewster and Jeff Davis counties, Texas, reported by W. Dietrich and W. L. Wagner (1988) as O. laciniata appear to represent collections of O. pubescens. Dietrich and Wagner found that O. laciniata hybridizes not only with O. grandis, but also with O. drummondii subsp. drummondii, O. humifusa, and O. mexicana. It is naturalized nearly worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Oenothera arizonica occurs in southern Arizona from Maricopa and Yuma counties to Cochise County, and from scattered localities in northern Sonora, Mexico, including Cerro Tepopa, Puerto Libertad, and Tastiota. The populations from southwestern Arizona (Yuma County) southward to Sonora often grow on low dunes.
Populations from sand dunes in Yuma County, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, appear to be a large phenotype of Oenothera arizonica that differ from all other specimens in the size of vegetative parts and flowers, and comprise all of the atypical measurements given in the description. Oenothera arizonica typically grows on dunes in Sonora, but rarely so in Arizona. Populations growing on dunes should be studied further and compared to non-dune populations in the northern and eastern portion of the range. Oenothera arizonica is self-compatible (W. L. Wagner et al. 2007; K. E. Theiss et al. 2010).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
- Local floras:
CA - Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos,
Go Botany, 
IL Wildflowers, 
KS Wildflowers, 
LA Plants, 
MD Biodiversity, 
MI Flora, 
MN Wildflowers, 
MO Plants 
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist (observations)
USDA Plants Database- LBJ Wildflower Center
- SEINet
- Plants of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of Life
- Wikipedia
- Google Image Search
