Oenothera mckelveyae |
Oenothera harringtonii |
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Mckelvey's beeblossom |
Colorado Springs evening primrose |
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Habit | Herbs perennial, clumped, long-villous, more sparsely so distally, hairs erect, 2–4 mm, also strigillose, sometimes glabrate distally or also sparsely glandular puberulent; from twisted, woody rootstock. | Herbs robust spring annual or, rarely, surviving a second year, caulescent, hirtellous, also glandular puberulent; from stout taproot. |
Stems | ascending, branched below or just above ground, branched also proximal to inflorescences, 30–70(–120) cm. |
ascending to erect, stout, unbranched or with lateral stems from basal rosette, densely leafy, 15–30 cm. |
Leaves | in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 3–17 × 0.8–2 cm, blade oblanceolate, cauline 1–6.5 × 0.1–1.5 cm, sessile, blade narrowly oblanceolate to elliptic, margins conspicuously sinuate-dentate, often undulate. |
10–14(–14.5) × 1.5–2.3(–3) cm; petiole 4.3–6.6 cm; blade narrowly oblanceolate, margins irregularly and coarsely dentate, apex acute. |
Inflorescences | slender. |
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Flowers | 4-merous, zygomorphic, opening near sunset; floral tube 2–3.5 mm; sepals 6–12 mm; petals white, fading dark pink to red, slightly unequal, elliptic-obovate, 7–11 mm, long-clawed; stamens presented in lower 1/2 of flower, filaments 5–9 mm, lanate at very base, anthers 2–4 mm, pollen 90–100% fertile; style 9–16 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis. |
usually 5–10 per stem opening per day near sunset, with heavy, sweet scent; buds erect; floral tube 31–60 mm; sepals 17–26 mm; petals white, fading pale pink, 20–26 mm; filaments 11–16 mm, anthers 8–11 mm; style 65–96 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis. |
Capsules | reflexed, lanceoloid to narrowly ovoid, narrowly 4-winged, 8–19 × 1.5–2 mm, tapering to a sterile stipe 3–9 mm. |
straight, lanceoloid, obtusely 4-angled, (21–)25–30(–35) × (5–)6–8 mm, tapering to a sterile beak 6–8 mm, dehiscent 1/2–2/3 their length, valve margins with 5–8 conspicuous, irregular tubercles, sometimes 2 or more coalesced into a sinuate ridge, also with conspicuous medial ridge throughout; pedicel 0.5–1 mm. |
Seeds | (1 or)2–4, 2–3 × 1 mm, yellowish to reddish brown. |
numerous, usually in 2 distinct rows per locule, sometimes rows partially overlapping, narrowly obovoid, 2.1–2.3 × 1–1.3 mm, embryo slightly less than 1/2 seed volume, surface appearing finely striate but papillose under magnification; seed collar with membrane intact at maturity, membrane rarely splitting and separating from collar, margin entire. |
2n | = 14. |
= 14. |
Oenothera mckelveyae |
Oenothera harringtonii |
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Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jun. | Flowering May–Jun. |
Habitat | Sandy soil. | On compacted, silty clay to looser rocky and sandy soil in open grassland. |
Elevation | 0–300 m. (0–1000 ft.) | 1400–1900 m. (4600–6200 ft.) |
Distribution |
TX; Mexico (Nuevo León, Tamaulipas) |
CO |
Discussion | Oenothera mckelveyae, on the Rio Grande Plain, is found in an area bounded by from Dimmit and LaSalle counties east to Karnes and Refugio counties in the north, southward through south Texas, extending to northeastern Tamaulipas and adjacent Nuevo León. P. H. Raven and D. P. Gregory (1972[1973]) found Oenothera mckelveyae to be self-incompatible. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Oenothera harringtonii is known only from southeastern Colorado from western El Paso and eastern Fremont counties, southeast through Pueblo to Otero counties, and south to Las Animas County; it may also occur in adjacent Colfax and Union counties in New Mexico but has not been collected there. Oenothera harringtonii is self-incompatible (W. L. Wagner et al. 1985; Wagner 2005). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 10. | FNA vol. 10. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Gaura villosa var. mckelveyae, Gaura mckelveyae | |
Name authority | (Munz) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 213. (2007) | W. L. Wagner, Stockhouse & W. M. Klein: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 70: 195. (1983) |
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