Oenothera sinuosa
Oenothera dodgeniana
wavy-leaf gaura, wavyleaf beeblossom
erect, branched below and just above ground, branched also proximal to inflorescences, 40–120(–250) cm.
1 or few-branched from base, 50–120 cm.
in a basal rosette and cauline, (1–)3–11 × (0.1–)0.5–2 cm, blade linear to narrowly oblanceolate, margins usually sparsely sinuate-dentate, rarely subentire, often undulate.
in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 6–20 × 1–3 cm, blade lanceolate to narrowly elliptic;
cauline 5–10 × 1–2.5 cm, blade lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, margins subentire or repand-denticulate.
stout.
4-merous, zygomorphic, opening near sunset;
floral tube 2.5–5 mm;
sepals 7–14 mm;
petals white, fading pink to red, slightly unequal, elliptic, 7–15 mm;
stamens presented in lower 1/2 of flower, filaments 5–11 mm, lanate at very base, anthers 3–5 mm, pollen 90–100% fertile;
style 12–19 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers at anthesis.
4-merous, zygomorphic, opening at sunset;
floral tube 10–11 mm;
sepals 11–15 mm;
petals white, fading pink, rhombic-obovate, 11–14 mm;
filaments 6.5–9 mm, anthers 2.5–4 mm, pollen 90–100% fertile;
style 22–28 mm, stigma exserted beyond anthers.
narrowly ovoid, narrowly 4-winged or 4-angled, 8–15 × 1.5–3.5 mm, abruptly constricted to a long, sterile stipe 2–8 mm.
ellipsoid or ovoid, sharply 4-angled, with deep furrows alternating with angles for 2–3 mm from apex, ribbed from base of furrow to base of fruit, 9–11 × 3–5 mm;
sessile.
(1 or)2–4, light to reddish brown, 2–3 × 1–1.5 mm.
2–4, yellowish to light brown, 2–3 mm.
= 28.
= 14.
Oenothera sinuosa
Oenothera dodgeniana
P. H. Raven and D. P. Gregory (1972[1973]) determined Oenothera sinuosa to be self-incompatible.
Oenothera sinuosa is endemic to Oklahoma and Texas and is escaped or naturalized in Alabama, Arkansas, California (where found to 1300 m), Florida, Georgia, Missouri, and New York.
Oenothera sinuosa is potentially a noxious weed due to the aggressive rhizomatous habit, but is somewhat limited by its self-incompatibility. Molecular data (G. D. Hoggard et al. 2004) are consistent with the hypothesis that the allotetraploid (2n = 28) O. sinuosa arose by interspecific hybridization of two species within subsect. Stipogaura as suggested by P. H. Raven and D. P. Gregory (1972[1973]). The molecular data indicate that the pistillate parent came from O. calcicola or a close relative, while the staminate parent originated from the lineage that gave rise to O. cinerea and O. filipes.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Oenothera dodgeniana occurs in two disjunct areas: the western foothills of the San Juan Mountains in Archuleta and Huerfano counties, Colorado, and Rio Arriba County, New Mexico; and Sierra Blanca and Sacramento Mountains in Lincoln and Otero counties, south-central New Mexico. The species was collected once at Durango, La Plata County, Colorado (P. H. Raven and D. P. Gregory 1972[1973]), but has not since been recollected. Oenothera dodgeniana and O. coloradensis were considered by Raven and Gregory to represent a relict species along the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains that arose from more widespread species farther to the east, such as O. filiformis. Oenothera dodgeniana belongs to a subclade which is sister to that containing O. coloradensis, and within that subclade is sister to O. demareei and O. lindheimeri (W. L. Wagner et al. 2013). Although O. dodgeniana is fairly closely related to O. coloradensis, the two taxa seem to have had independent origins that have led to distributions along the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains. Oenothera dodgeniana is self-compatible (Raven and Gregory).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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