Oenothera pilosella |
Oenothera spachiana |
|
---|---|---|
meadow evening-primrose |
spach's evening primrose |
|
Habit | Herbs perennial, usually densely to sparsely hirsute, rarely glabrous; from a thickened base, rhizomatous. | Herbs annual, densely strigillose; from a sparsely branched taproot. |
Stems | spreading or ascending, unbranched or few-branched distally, 20–80 cm. |
erect, usually unbranched or with few ascending branches, 10–30(–45) cm. |
Leaves | in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 4–8 × 2–5 cm, petiole (0.5–)1–3(–4) cm, blade oblanceolate to ovate, margins entire; cauline 3–10(–13) × 1–2(–4) cm, petiole 0–0.5(–2) cm, blade lanceolate to ovate, abruptly narrowed to base, margins subentire or coarsely dentate. |
in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 2–5 × 0.5–1.5 cm, petiole 0.5–2 cm, blade oblanceolate to elliptic, margins subentire; cauline 3–6 × 0.2–0.6 cm, petiole 0.2–0.6(–1.5) cm, blade narrowly lanceolate to linear, margins subentire. |
Inflorescences | erect, flowers in axils of distalmost few nodes. |
erect, flowers in leaf axils in distal 1/2 of plant. |
Flowers | opening near sunrise; buds with free tips 1–3 mm, spreading; floral tube 10–25 mm; sepals 10–20 mm; petals bright yellow, fading pale pink or pale yellow, 15–30 mm; filaments 7–15 mm, anthers 4–8 mm, pollen 85–100% fertile; style 10–20 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis. |
opening near sunrise; buds with free tips to 1 mm, erect to spreading; floral tube 4–10 mm; sepals 4–8 mm; petals pale yellow, fading pale pink, 5–14 mm; filaments 3–7 mm, anthers 2–4 mm, pollen 85–100% fertile; style 3–7 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers. |
Capsules | usually oblong-clavate to oblong-ellipsoid or ellipsoid, 4-angled or weakly 4-winged, (5–)10–15(–28) × 2–4(–5) mm, stipe (1–)3–5(–9) mm; sessile. |
broadly clavate, 4-angled, 5–15 × 3–5 mm, stipe 2–5 mm; sessile. |
Seeds | 1 × 0.5 mm. |
1 × 0.5 mm. |
2n | = 56. |
= 14. |
Oenothera pilosella |
Oenothera spachiana |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Jul(–Aug). | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Open fields, edge of woods, marshes and bottomland prairies, open disturbed sites, ditches, old fields, railroads, roadsides. | Prairies, open roadsides, sandy places. |
Elevation | 100–600 m. (300–2000 ft.) | 10–200 m. (0–700 ft.) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; ME; MI; MO; MS; NH; NY; OH; OK; PA; RI; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON
|
AL; AR; LA; MS; OK; TX |
Discussion | Oenothera pilosella is widespread in cultivation in gardens and frequently escapes and becomes naturalized; the northern and eastern natural limits of O. pilosella are not clear. According to G. B. Straley (1977) the natural limits are from Wayne County, West Virginia, along the Ohio River and Erie County, New York, for the eastern limits, and Tuscola County, Michigan, and Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, for the northern limits. K. N. Krakos (2014), based on new field studies and phylogenetic data, found that O. pilosella does not form a monophyletic group with plants previously treated by Straley as O. pilosella subsp. sessilis in molecular analyses, and thus is here reinstated as the distinct species O. sessilis. Straley determined that O. pilosella is self-incompatible and an octoploid, one of the few in the genus. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
G. B. Straley (1977) determined Oenothera spachiana to be self-compatible and autogamous. Collections outside the native range of O. spachiana have been made as a ballast weed in Camden County, New Jersey. Oenothera drummondii (Spach) Walpers (1843), not Hooker (1834) is a later homonym and pertains here. (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. Kneiffia | Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Kneiffia |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Kneiffia fruticosa var. pilosella, K. pilosella, K. pratensis, K. sumstinei, O. fruticosa var. hirsuta, O. fruticosa var. pilosella, O. pratensis | Blennoderma drummondii, Kneiffia spachiana, O. uncinata |
Name authority | Rafinesque: Ann. Nat. 1: 15. (1820) | Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 498. (1840) |
Web links |