Oenothera parviflora |
Oenothera coloradensis |
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northern evening-primrose, small-flower evening-primrose |
Colorado beeblossom |
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Habit | Herbs biennial, sparsely strigillose, glandular puberulent, and villous with pustulate or non-pustulate hairs, sometimes predominately strigillose proximally or predominately villous with pustulate or non-pustulate hairs distally, glabrous, or some mixture of strigillose, glandular puberulent, or sparsely villous distally, sometimes appearing glabrous to the naked eye. | Herbs monocarpic perennial, strigillose proximally, short-hirtellous and strigillose distally, leaves sometimes glabrate; from stout, fleshy taproot. |
Stems | erect, green or red on proximal parts or throughout, mostly branched from base or only in distal 1/2, 30–150 cm. |
1–few-branched from base, 50–80(–100) cm. |
Leaves | in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 10–30 × 1–4 cm, cauline 4–18 × 1–3 cm; blade usually bright green, sometimes pale green distally, white- or red-veined, narrowly oblanceolate, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate, or oblong, margins usually flat, rarely undulate, regularly dentate to remotely denticulate, sometimes teeth widely spaced; bracts persistent. |
in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 4–18 × 1.5–4 cm, blade very narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, or oblanceolate; cauline 5–13 × 1–4 cm, blade narrowly elliptic, narrowly lanceolate, or narrowly oblanceolate, margins subentire or repand-denticulate. |
Inflorescences | erect or ± curved, unbranched or with secondary branches just proximal to main one. |
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Flowers | opening near sunset; buds erect, 3–5 mm diam., with free tips subterminal, spreading to erect, 0.5–5 mm; floral tube 22–40 mm; sepals green to yellowish green or flushed with red or dark red, sometimes only red-flecked, 7–17 mm; petals yellow to pale yellow, fading pale yellow to pale yellowish orange, very broadly obcordate, 8–15(–20) mm; filaments 7–13 mm, anthers 3.5–6 mm, pollen ca. 50% fertile; style 25–50 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis. |
4-merous, zygomorphic, opening at sunset; floral tube 8–12 mm; sepals 9.5–13 mm; petals white, fading pink, rhombic-obovate, 7–12 mm; filaments 6.5–9 mm, anthers 2.5–4 mm, pollen 90–100% fertile; style 19–25 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis. |
Capsules | erect or slightly spreading, usually greenish black when dry, narrowly lanceoloid to lanceoloid, 20–40 ×3.5–5 mm, free tips of valves 1–1.5 mm. |
ellipsoid or ovoid, sharply 4-angled, with fairly deep furrows alternating with angles, 6–8.5 × 2–3 mm; sessile. |
Seeds | 1.1–1.8 × 0.5–1 mm. |
1–4, yellowish to light brown, 2–3 × 1 mm. |
2n | = 14. |
= 14. |
Oenothera parviflora |
Oenothera coloradensis |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering Jul–Sep. |
Habitat | Open or disturbed, sandy or gravelly sites, roadsides, fallow fields, clearings, riverbanks, along water courses, salt marshes, coastal meadows. | In wet meadow vegetation of North and South Platte River watersheds on high plains, sloping floodplains, drainage basins in heavy soil. |
Elevation | 0–1700 m. (0–5600 ft.) | 1500–2000 m. (4900–6600 ft.) |
Distribution |
CT; DC; DE; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC [Introduced in Europe, Asia (ne China, Japan), s Africa, Pacific Islands (New Zealand), Australia]
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CO; NE; WY |
Discussion | Oenothera parviflora is a PTH species and forms a ring of 14 chromosomes in meiosis, and is self-compatible and autogamous (W. Dietrich et al. 1997). It has plastome IV and a BC genome composition. Onagra chrysantha Spach 1835, not Michaux 1803, is a superfluous name, as is Onagra chrysantha var. parviflora (Linnaeus) Spach, and both pertain here. O. biformiflora var. cruciata R. R. Gates is an invalid name that pertains here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Oenothera coloradensis is currently known from fewer than two dozen populations from southern Laramie and Platte counties in Wyoming, northern Weld County, Colorado, formerly near Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado, and in western Kimball County, Nebraska. It is federally listed as a threatened species in the United States. The primary threats are agricultural use of habitat, herbicide spraying to control weed species, and livestock trampling and grazing (see W. L. Wagner et al. 2013). Recent study by K. N. Krakos (unpubl.) has determined this species to be self-compatible. P. H. Raven and D. P. Gregory (1972[1973]) described this species as glandular puberulent in inflorescence, which was repeated in the recent revised taxonomy (Wagner et al.); however, examination of specimens show that P. A. Munz (1965) was correct in describing the pubescence of the inflorescence as non-glandular. (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. Oenothera | Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Gaura > subsect. Gaura |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | O. ammophiloidesr. var. flecticaulis, O. ammophiloides var. parva, O. angustifolia, O. angustissima, O. angustissima var. quebecensis, O. apicaborta, O. atrovirens, O. biennis var. cruciata, O. biennis var. parviflora, O. biformiflora, O. cleistantha, O. comosa, O. cruciata, O. cruciata var. sabulonensis, O. deflexa, O. flecticaulis, O. hazeliae, O. hazeliae var. parviflora, O. hazeliae var. subterminalis, O. intermedia, O. laevigata, O. laevigata var. scitula, O. laevigata var. similis, O. novae-scotiae, O. novae-scotiae var. distantifolia, O. novae-scotiae var. intermedia, O. parva, O. parviflora subsp. angustissima, O. parviflora var. angustissima, O. robinsonii, O. rubricapitata, O. scitula, O. subterminalis, O. venosa, Onagra biennis var. cruciata, O. chrysantha var. cruciata, O. cruciata, O. parviflora | Gaura coloradensis, G. neomexicana subsp. coloradensis, G. neomexicana var. coloradensis |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 998. (1759) — (as parviflor) | (Rydberg) W. L. Wagner & Hoch: Syst. Bot. Monogr. 83: 211. (2007) |
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