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

Mexican evening primrose

Fort Huachuca evening primrose

Habit Herbs annual, moderately to sparsely strigillose and densely long-villous, sometimes also becoming glandular puberulent distally. Herbs perennial, caulescent, strigillose, often densely so; from slender taproot.
Stems

erect to ascending, usually unbranched, or with arcuate lateral branches arising from rosette, 15–40(–60) cm.

1–several, ascending, 5–60 cm.

Leaves

in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 6–10 × 1–2.5 cm, cauline 3–7.5 × 0.8–2 cm;

blade usually grayish green, narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, margins deeply lobed, lobes usually dentate;

bracts distalmost erect, revolute.

in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 2–7 × 0.3–1.4 cm, blade narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate, margins weakly serrulate to sinuate-pinnatifid;

cauline 1.2–6 × 0.3–1 cm, blade narrowly elliptic to elliptic or ovate, proximal ones sinuate-pinnatifid, margins subentire or weakly serrulate.

Inflorescences

erect.

Flowers

usually 1 opening per day near sunset;

buds erect, with free tips erect or appressed, 0.5–2.5 mm;

floral tube 23–28 mm;

sepals 5–12 mm;

petals yellow, fading orange, broadly obovate or shallowly obcordate, 6–15 mm;

filaments 4–12 mm, anthers 3–4 mm, pollen 85–100% fertile;

style 27–40 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis.

1–3 opening per day near sunrise;

buds with free tips 0–0.1 mm;

floral tube 9–14 mm;

sepals 7.5–13 mm;

petals rose purple, fading darker, 8–15 mm;

filaments 4–9 mm, anthers 2.5–4 mm, pollen 85–100% fertile;

style 12–19 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis.

Capsules

cylindrical, sometimes slightly enlarged toward apex, 25–45 × 2.5–3 mm.

clavate or narrowly obovoid, 9–14 × 3–4 mm, apex attenuate to a sterile beak, valve midrib prominent in distal part, proximal stipe 4–15 mm, gradually tapering to base;

sessile.

Seeds

ellipsoid to subglobose, 0.8–1.2 × 0.3–0.5 mm.

narrowly obovoid, 0.7–0.9 × 0.3–0.5 mm.

2n

= 14.

= 14.

Oenothera mexicana

Oenothera platanorum

Phenology Flowering Apr–May. Flowering Mar–Aug.
Habitat Open, sandy sites. Streambeds and near springs.
Elevation 30–200 m. (100–700 ft.) 700–1900 m. (2300–6200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; Mexico (Sonora)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Oenothera mexicana is known only from southeastern Texas (Atascosa, Aransas, Bexar, Brooks, Burleson, De Witt, Frio, Gonzales, Kenedy, Medina, Newton, Refugio, San Patricio, Waller, and Washington counties). It is self-compatible and autogamous, but not a PTH species.

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

Oenothera platanorum is known only from the southeastern counties of Cochise, Pinal, and Santa Cruz in Arizona. It was recently collected in Sonora, Mexico. The species is very similar to both O. texensis, from which it differs in its smaller flowers, and the widespread O. rosea, from which it differs in the somewhat larger flowers and in forming seven bivalents in meiosis and fully fertile pollen, whereas O. rosea is a PTH species.

(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. Hartmannia
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. laciniata, O. lavandulifolia, O. lindheimeri, O. linifolia, O. longissima, O. macrocarpa, O. mckelveyae, 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. 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. laciniata var. mexicana, O. sinuata var. hirsuta, Raimannia mexicana
Name authority Spach: Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. 4: 347. (1836) P. H. Raven & D. R. Parnell: Madroño 20: 246. (1970)
Web links