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cut-leaf evening-primrose, southern evening primrose

hairy evening-primrose, villous evening primrose, yellow evening-primrose

Habit Herbs annual, sparsely to moderately strigillose, sometimes also villous, sometimes also becoming glandular puberulent distally. Herbs biennial, densely strigillose and either sparsely or moderately villous, with appressed or spreading hairs (sometimes with red-pustulate bases), distally sometimes also glandular puberulent.
Stems

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

erect, usually flushed with red proximally, sometimes green or red throughout, unbranched or with branches obliquely arising from rosette and secondary branches arising from main stem, 50–200 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.

in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 10–30 × 1.2–4(–5) cm, cauline 5–20 × 1–2.5(–4) cm;

blade dull green or grayish green, narrowly oblanceolate, oblanceolate to narrowly elliptic, or narrowly lanceolate, margins flat or undulate, dentate to subentire, teeth sometimes widely spaced, sometimes sinuate-dentate proximally;

bracts persistent.

Inflorescences

dense to open, erect, unbranched.

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.

opening near sunset;

buds erect, 3–5 mm diam., with free tips terminal, erect, 0.5–3 mm;

floral tube 23–44 mm;

sepals green to yellowish green, red-striped, or flushed with red, 9–18 mm;

petals yellow to pale yellow, fading orange or pale yellow, very broadly obcordate, 7–20 mm;

filaments 7–15 mm, anthers 4–10 mm, pollen ca. 50% fertile;

style 30–55 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis.

Capsules

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

erect or slightly spreading, dull green or gray-green when dry, lanceoloid, 20–43 × 4–7 mm, free tips of valves 1–2 mm.

Seeds

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

1–2 × 0.5–1.2 mm.

2n

= 14.

Oenothera laciniata

Oenothera villosa

Phenology Flowering (Feb–)Apr–Sep(–Oct).
Habitat introduced nearly worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas..
Elevation 0–1000(–1300) m. (0–3300(–4300) 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 USDA
North America [Introduced in s South America, Europe, Asia, s Africa]
[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.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Oenothera villosa is a PTH species and forms a ring of 14 chromosomes in meiosis, and is self-compatible and autogamous with plastome I and a AA genome composition (W. Dietrich et al. 1997). The original natural range of O. villosa was presumably from southern British Columbia south to California and east through the Rocky Mountain and the Great Plains regions. The wide occurrence east of this area in North America to eastern Quebec south throughout most of the eastern half of the United States, except for extreme southern and southeastern parts, is most likely the result of recent spread of this species, probably in the past several hundred years. Oenothera villosa is subdivided into two subspecies: subsp. strigosa occurs primarily in the Pacific Northwest southeast through the Rocky Mountains; subsp. villosa is found primarily from the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains eastward throughout the Great Plains region. Both taxa occur sporadically beyond these regions, and subsp. villosa is naturalized in many parts of the world.

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

Key
1. Inflorescences usually dense (internodes in fruit usually shorter than capsule); plants dull green to grayish green, densely strigillose and sometimes also sparsely villous with appressed or subappressed hairs, these without or with red or green pustulate bases, rarely sparsely glandular puberulent distally; sepals green to yellowish green; leaf blade margins conspicuously dentate, venation prominent, especially abaxially.
subsp. villosa
1. Inflorescences usually open (internodes in fruit usually as long as or longer than capsule); plants flushed with red at least proximally, often red throughout, strigillose, usually also villous with erect to sometimes appressed hairs with pustulate bases, pustules red, also glandular puberulent at least distally; sepals red-striped or flushed with red; leaf blade margins usually denticulate or subentire, sometimes moderately dentate, venation not prominent.
subsp. strigosa
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. Oenothera > subsect. Oenothera
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. 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. wolfii, O. xylocarpa
Subordinate taxa
O. villosa subsp. strigosa, O. villosa subsp. villosa
Synonyms O. minima, O. repanda, O. sinuata, O. sinuata var. minima, Onagra sinuata, Raimannia laciniata
Name authority Hill: Veg. Syst. 12(app.): 64, plate 10. (1767) Thunberg: Prodr. Pl. Cap., 75. (1794)
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