Flora of North America species comparison

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Oenothera pallida subsp. latifolia

Oenothera pallida
Photo is of parent taxon
Oenothera pallida

mountain evening primrose, pale evening-primrose, rockweed brush, white-stem evening primrose
Habit Herbs perennial, densely strigillose throughout; from a taproot, lateral roots producing adventitious shoots. Herbs annual or perennial, glabrous, strigillose and/or villous, sometimes more villous distally, especially on flower parts; from a taproot, sometimes lateral roots producing adventitious shoots.
Stems

usually several, branched from base, sometimes unbranched.

erect or ascending, single to several from base, unbranched or many-branched throughout, 10–50(–70) cm.
Leaves

rosette not present at anthesis, 1–5(–7) × (0.4–)0.7–1.5 cm;

blade narrowly ovate to oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, margins shallowly sinuate-dentate or denticulate.

cauline, rosette usually weakly developed or absent, at least during flowering, sometimes well developed, 1–5(–7.8) × 0.3–1(–1.5) cm;

petiole 0–2(–4.5) cm;

blade lanceolate, oblong, linear-lanceolate, or ovate, margins subentire or remotely denticulate, deeply sinuate-dentate, or pinnatifid, sometimes repand.
Flowers

buds with free tips 1–2 mm;

floral tube 15–40 mm;

sepals 12–30 mm;

petals 15–40 mm.

1–several opening per day near sunset;

buds nodding, weakly quadrangular, with free tips 0–2 mm;

floral tube 15–40 mm;

sepals 10–30 mm, not spotted;

petals white, fading pink to deep pink, broadly obovate or obcordate, (10–)15–25(–40) mm;

filaments 9–15 mm, anthers 3–10 mm;

style 25–55 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.
Capsules

spreading, straight or curved, sometimes contorted.

spreading to reflexed, straight to curved or contorted, cylindrical, obtusely 4-angled, tapering slightly from base to apex, 15–60 × 1.5–2.5 mm;

sessile.
Seeds

numerous, in 1 row per locule, brownish with dark spots or black, narrowly obovoid, 1.5–2.2 mm.
2n

= 14.

Oenothera pallida subsp. latifolia

Oenothera pallida
Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Open sites, sandy soil, dunes, rocky sites in grasslands.
Elevation 600–2000(–3100) m. (2000–6600(–10200) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CO; KS; NE; NM; OK; SD; UT; WY
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
w North America; n Mexico; c North America
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Some collections from mostly disturbed sites in northern Utah (Cache, Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele counties) have been identified as subsp. latifolia; it is not clear if they represent a disjunct distribution area of this subspecies, naturalized populations, or if they are pubescent forms of subsp. pallida.

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

Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora).

Oenothera pallida is a poorly understood species currently subdivided into four subspecies (W. L. Wagner et al. 2007) that differ largely in aspect, leaf division, capsule configuration, and pubescence. The variation pattern is rather complex with almost no diagnostic character uniformly distinguishing any one of the subspecies. Instead, each of the subspecies, which are mostly geographically separated although there is some level of overlap, have diagnostic suites of characters that maintain their linkage some of the time, but break down across the geographic area of each so that no single character uniquely identifies it. Each subspecies is characterized by leaf, pubescence, and, often, habit features. The issues with the integrity and intergradations of the subspecies are discussed below.

Oenothera pallida has been determined to be self-incompatible (W. L. Wagner et al. 2007), but K. E. Theiss et al. (2010) determined that although most populations of subsp. pallida are self-incompatible, one near Salt Lake City is self-compatible.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Herbs annual, sometimes perennial from a taproot, when perennial, sometimes with lateral roots producing adventitious shoots, strigillose throughout and villous distally, especially on flower parts.
subsp. trichocalyx
1. Herbs perennial from a taproot and with lateral roots producing adventitious shoots, glabrous, strigillose, or sparsely villous.
→ 2
2. Plants glabrous, sometimes strigillose, rarely sparsely villous; leaf blade margins usually subentire or remotely denticulate, rarely pinnatifid; capsules usually contorted to curved.
subsp. pallida
2. Plants usually strigillose, rarely villous or glabrous; leaf blade margins shallowly sinuate-dentate or denticulate, or deeply sinuate-dentate to pinnatifid, rarely only dentate; capsules usually straight or curved, sometimes contorted.
→ 3
3. Leaf blades (0.4–)0.7–1.5 cm wide, margins shallowly sinuate-dentate or denticulate.
subsp. latifolia
3. Leaf blades 0.4–1(–1.5) cm wide, margins usually deeply sinuate-dentate to pinnatifid, rarely dentate only.
subsp. runcinata
Source FNA vol. 10. FNA vol. 10.
Parent taxa Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Anogra > Oenothera pallida Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Anogra
Sibling taxa
O. pallida subsp. pallida, O. pallida subsp. runcinata, O. pallida subsp. trichocalyx
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. 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
Subordinate taxa
O. pallida subsp. latifolia, O. pallida subsp. pallida, O. pallida subsp. runcinata, O. pallida subsp. trichocalyx
Synonyms O. pallida var. latifolia, Anogra cinerea, A. latifolia, A. pallida var. latifolia, O. latifolia Anogra pallida, O. albicaulis var. pallida
Name authority (Rydberg) Munz in N. L. Britton et al.: N. Amer. Fl., ser. 2, 5: 119. (1965) Lindley: Bot. Reg. 14: plate 1142. (1828)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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