The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

cut-leaf evening-primrose, southern evening primrose

beakpod evening primrose, spotted evening-primrose

Habit Herbs annual, sparsely to moderately strigillose, sometimes also villous, sometimes also becoming glandular puberulent distally. Herbs low, forming clumps 10–50 cm diam., densely strigillose throughout; from a taproot, lateral roots producing adventitious shoots.
Stems

erect to ascending, unbranched to much branched, 5–50 cm.

many-branched from base, leafy, (10–)15–25(–38) cm.

Leaves

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.

cauline, (0.3–)0.6–1.5(–2.5) × (0.05–)0.15–0.4(–0.6) cm, fascicles of small leaves 0.2–0.6 cm often present in non-flowering axils;

petiole 0–0.1 cm;

blade lanceolate to linear, base cuneate, apex acute.

Flowers

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.

several opening per day near sunset;

buds usually without free tips, rarely free tips 0.2–0.3 mm;

sepals (7–)8–12 mm;

petals pink, rarely white, streaked or flecked with red, fading bright purple, (8–)10–17 mm;

filaments 6–8 mm, anthers often with red longitudinal stripe, 3–6 mm;

style (16–)22–27 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.

Capsules

cylindrical, sometimes slightly enlarged toward apex, 20–50 × 2–4 mm.

woody, ovoid, narrowly winged, wings 0.8–1.5 mm wide, (7–)9–12(–14) × 2–4 mm (excluding wings), abruptly constricted to a conspicuous, sterile beak, (2–)3–4.5 mm, indehiscent;

sessile.

Seeds

ellipsoid to subglobose, 0.9–1.8 × 0.4–0.9 mm.

asymmetrically cuneiform or oblanceoloid, 1.2–1.5 × 0.4–0.5 mm.

2n

= 14.

= 14.

Oenothera laciniata

Oenothera canescens

Phenology Flowering (Feb–)Apr–Sep(–Oct). Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat introduced nearly worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas.. Prairie depressions, playas, margins of ditches, temporary wet areas.
Elevation 0–1000(–1300) m. (0–3300(–4300) ft.) (400–)700–1800 m. ((1300–)2300–5900 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; SC; SD; TN; TX; VA; VT; WI; WV; WY [Introduced nearly worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; TX; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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 canescens is restricted to prairie depressions, playas, ditch margins, and other places of temporary water in the High Plains of the western United States from Goshen County, Wyoming, southeast to Hayes County, Nebraska, south through eastern Colorado, the eastern tier of counties in New Mexico, western Kansas, and to Garza and Dawson counties in the Texas Panhandle; also disjunct populations from Chautauqua, Sedgwick, and Stafford counties, Kansas.

The illegitimate names Gaurella guttulata (Geyer ex Hooker) Small, G. canescens (Torrey & Frémont) Cockerell, and Gauropsis guttulata (Geyer ex Hooker) Cockerell pertain here.

(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. Oenothera > subsect. Raimannia Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Gauropsis
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. howardii, O. humifusa, O. jamesii, O. kunthiana, 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. calcicola, O. californica, 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 O. minima, O. repanda, O. sinuata, O. sinuata var. minima, Onagra sinuata, Raimannia laciniata Gaurella canescens, Megapterium canescens, O. guttulata
Name authority Hill: Veg. Syst. 12(app.): 64, plate 10. (1767) Torrey & Frémont in J. C. Fremont: Rep. Exped. Rocky Mts., 315. (1845)
Web links