Oenothera rosea |
Oenothera howardii |
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pink evening primrose, rose evening-primrose |
Howard's evening-primrose |
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Habit | Herbs perennial, caulescent, strigillose and often also sparsely hirsute; from slender taproot. | Herbs acaulescent or sometimes caulescent, moderately to densely strigillose and glandular puberulent, sometimes also sparsely to moderately hirsute; from a taproot, sometimes lateral roots producing adventitious shoots. |
Stems | 1–several, ascending to decumbent, 7–65 cm. |
(when present) ascending, longer ones becoming decumbent, leafy, sometimes densely so, 0–10(–30) cm. |
Leaves | in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 1–6 × 0.3–2 cm, blade narrowly elliptic to elliptic or ovate, margins subentire, weakly serrulate, or sinuate-pinnatifid; cauline 1–6 × 0.3–2 cm, blade narrowly elliptic to narrowly ovate, margins subentire or weakly serrulate, proximal ones sinuate-pinnatifid. |
in a basal rosette, sometimes also cauline, (6–)8.5–17(–23) × (0.5–)1–2(–3) cm; petiole 2–7.5 cm; blade usually oblanceolate, elliptic to narrowly oblong, rarely lanceolate, margins often undulate, entire or remotely and irregularly pinnately lobed mostly in proximal 1/2, rarely more regularly pinnately lobed and lobing extending to distal 1/2, sinuses usually extending less than 1/2 to midrib, lobes triangular to oblong or linear, (1–)4–9(–13) mm, apex acute to obtuse. |
Inflorescences | erect. |
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Flowers | 1–3 opening per day near sunrise; buds with free tips 0.1–1 mm; floral tube 4–8 mm; sepals 6–12 mm; petals rose purple, fading darker, 4–12 mm; filaments 4–6 mm, anthers 2–3.5 mm, pollen 35–65% fertile; style 7–13.5 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis. |
usually 1 or 2, rarely more, opening per day near sunset, strongly and sweetly scented; buds with unequal free tips 1–3(–4) mm; floral tube (43–)60–110(–125) mm; sepals (30–)35–60(–80) mm; petals brilliant yellow, fading deep red, drying deep reddish purple to reddish brown, usually broadly obovate, rarely subrhombic, (30–)40–60(–73) mm, sometimes with a terminal tooth; filaments (19–)25–38 mm, anthers 10–17 mm; style(90–)110–145(–165) mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis. |
Capsules | narrowly obovoid, 4–12 × 2–4 mm, apex attenuate to a sterile beak, proximal stipe 5–20 mm, gradually tapering to base, valve midrib prominent in distal part; sessile. |
leathery, ovoid, narrowly ovoid, or narrowly lanceoloid to broadly ellipsoid, winged, wings (2–)4–7(–11) mm wide, body (20–)25–50(–80) × 4–6 mm, dehiscent 1/4–1/3 their length; pedicel 2–6 mm. |
Seeds | narrowly obovoid, 0.5–0.9 × 0.3–0.5 mm. |
numerous, usually in 1 row per locule, rarely in 2 rows toward base, obovoid to subcuboid, 3–8 × 2.5–3.5 mm. |
2n | = 14. |
= 28, 42, 56. |
Oenothera rosea |
Oenothera howardii |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Sep. | Flowering May–Jul. |
Habitat | tropical areas.. | Open or rocky areas, in shale, fine-textured sandstones, clays, gypsum, or limestone from High Plains grasslands, open sites in pinyon-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine-Douglas fir forests. |
Elevation | 10–600 m. (0–2000 ft.) | (1000–)1500–2300(–3000) m. ((3300–)4900–7500(–9800) ft.) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; TX; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; tropical areas [Introduced in South America (Argentina), Europe, Asia, s Africa, Atlantic Islands (Azores, Canary Islands)]
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CO; KS; NV; UT; WY
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Discussion | Oenothera rosea is a PTH species, forming a ring of 14 chromosomes in meiosis, and is self-compatible and autogamous. In the flora area, it is known from Cochise, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties in Arizona, Alameda, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara counties in California (primarily in urban areas), and from southern Texas. It is clearly of North American origin, since all of its close relatives are confined to North America, and has spread south along the Andes. It occurs at 500–3700 m in South America but generally at lower elevations in most areas. The name Hartmannia affinis Spach is illegitimate, being based on Oenothera virgata; H. gauroides Spach is also illegitimate, being based on O. rosea; O. purpurea Lamarck is a later homonym; these three names pertain here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Oenotherahowardii is known from three disjunct areas: three collections on the High Plains (Baca and Otero counties, Colorado, and Hamilton County, Kansas); open yucca-juniper grassland, rocky slopes or disturbed areas on shale substrates along the Colorado counties of Boulder, Denver, Jefferson, and Larimer, and just over the state line in Wyoming; and, common to scattered, mostly on rocky slopes but also in shaded canyon sites on fine-textured red sandstones, clays, gypsum, chalky white degraded limestone or limestone in pinyon-juniper woodland to ponderosa pine-Douglas fir forest in southern Utah and eastern Nevada. A. Nelson intended to publish Lavauxia howardii as a new combination and base it on Oenothera howardii M. E. Jones (1893), which was not validly published at the time, but inadvertently published L. howardii as a new species. Oenothera howardii (A. Nelson) W. L. Wagner is an isonym. (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. Hartmannia | Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Megapterium |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Gaura epilobia, Godetia heuckii, Hartmannia rosea, H. rosea var. parvifolia, H. virgata, O. psycrophila, O. rosea var. parvifolia, O. rubra, O. virgata, Xylopleurum roseum | Lavauxiahowardii a. |
Name authority | L’Héritier ex Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 3. (1789) | (A. Nelson) M. E. Jones ex Prain in B. D. Jackson et al.: Index Kew., suppl. 3: 121. (1908) — (as howardi) |
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