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Wolf's evening-primrose

stemless evening-primrose

Habit Herbs biennial or short-lived perennial, densely strigillose, also villous with spreading to subappressed hairs, hairs sometimes pustulate, also glandular puberulent distally. Herbs winter-annual, sometimes biennial, acaulescent or very short-caulescent, sparsely to moderately strigillose and glandular puberulent, sometimes one hair type predominant, rarely glabrate, sometimes also very sparsely hirsute, especially on leaf veins; from a slender or, sometimes, stout taproot.
Stems

erect, green, flushed with red proximally or red throughout, unbranched or branches obliquely arising from rosette and sometimes secondary branches arising from main stem, 50–100 cm.

(when present) ascending, 1–several, densely leafy, 0–20 cm.

Leaves

in a basal rosette and cauline, basal 13–35 ×1.5–4(–5) cm, cauline 5–18 × 1–2.5(–4) cm;

blade dull green, flat, oblanceolate to narrowly lanceolate or lanceolate to elliptic, margins bluntly dentate or subentire, teeth widely spaced or sinuate proximally;

bracts persistent.

in a basal rosette, sometimes also cauline, (2.5–)6–25(–32) × (0.6–)1.5–4(–5) cm, thin;

petiole (0.5–)1–8 cm;

blade oblanceolate to elliptic, margins irregularly pinnatifid, sometimes subentire, apex acute to obtuse or rounded.

Inflorescences

erect, unbranched.

Flowers

opening near sunset;

buds erect, 5–8 mmdiam., with free tips terminal, erect, 1–3 mm;

floral tube 30–46 mm;

sepals yellowish green, also usually flushed with red or red-striped, 17–28 mm;

petals yellow, fading orange, pale yellow and somewhat opaque, very broadly obcordate, 13–23 mm, conspicuously shorter than sepals;

filaments 12–20 mm, anthers 7–12 mm, pollen ca. 50% fertile;

style 43–58 mm, stigma usually slightly exserted beyond anthers or surrounded by them at anthesis.

1–4 opening per day near sunset, without noticeable scent;

buds with subequal free tips 2–7 mm;

floral tube (20–)28–95(–138) mm;

sepals (6–)10–30(–35) mm;

petals pale yellow, fading pale orange, drying lavender, (10–)12–30(–38) mm;

filaments (5–)8–15(–18) mm, anthers (3.5–)4–11 mm;

style (3.4–)4.2–11.5(–16.3) mm, stigma usually surrounded by anthers, sometimes (especially in some Texas populations) exserted beyond anthers.

Capsules

erect or slightly spreading, dark dull green and sometimes red-striped when dry, narrowly lanceoloid, 30–48 × 5–7 mm, free tips of valves 0.5–2.5mm.

woody in age, rhombic-obovoid, winged, wings broadly triangular, 5–10 mm wide, often terminating in a hooked tooth, (10–)15–25(–28) × 4–8 mm (excluding wings), valve surface reticulate, dehiscent 1/8–1/3 their length.

Seeds

0.9–2 × 0.9–1.3 mm.

asymmetrically cuneiform, (2.1–)2.5–3(–3.3) mm.

2n

= 14.

= 14.

Oenothera wolfii

Oenothera triloba

Phenology Flowering Jun–Oct. Flowering (Feb–)Mar–May(–Jul).
Habitat Coarse-textured sandy or rocky sites, coastal dunes and bluffs, loose, sandy sites along roads, moist places. Scattered to common in clay, sandy or rocky soil, playas, floodplains, creek beds, slopes and flats, moist sites, disturbed sites, roadsides, old fields, in Larrea deserts, prairies, glades.
Elevation 0–100(–800) m. (0–300(–2600) ft.) 300–1900 m. (1000–6200 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; DC; IL; IN; KS; KY; MD; MO; NM; OH; OK; PA; TN; TX; VA; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Nuevo León)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Oenothera wolfii 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 I and a AA genome composition. It is known only from the vicinity of Port Orford, Curry County, Oregon (currently apparently only as far north as Otter Rock), south in a scattered distribution through Del Norte County to the mouth of the Mattole River, Humboldt County, California. The distribution, at least in California, is closely associated with small patches of Cenozoic-age marine sediments, isolated from each other by Franciscan sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. Most populations appear to occur near river mouths or to the south of a headland. The largest populations center in the area about 11 km long in the vicinity of Crescent City in Del Norte County, between Point George and Enderts Beach in Redwood National Park. There are collections from two inland California localities, one at the eastern border of Humboldt County, California (Willow Creek, Trinity River Valley), and the other at Carville, Trinity County, that may be O. wolfii. If so, they would presumably represent recent introductions and should be studied further. As summarized by Dietrich et al., O. wolfii is a rare endemic of coastal habitats and known from about 20 different sites. The total number of individuals of O. wolfii apparently fluctuates, with perhaps no more than about 5000 individuals total. It is threatened by any potential development and alteration of its habitat, presently by road maintenance and foot traffic. Another possibly more serious threat comes from the recent spread of O. glazioviana to this area. Oenothera glazioviana could swamp populations through hybridization and, perhaps, by direct competition.

Oenothera wolfii is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

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

Oenotheratriloba is primarily a species of the high plains from eastern Socorro County, New Mexico, east through all but eastern Texas, Oklahoma, to southern Kansas, east of Meade and Pawnee counties and south of Douglas and Saline counties. It becomes more sporadic eastward into Missouri south of the Missouri River, northwestern and north-central Arkansas, central and eastern Tennessee, northern Alabama, and Logan and Warren counties, Kentucky; also known from disjunct sites in northern Mexico from Nuevo León, Chihuahua, and Baja California, Mexico; and, introduced in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky (Campbell and Fayette counties), Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Areas where it was introduced are represented by old collections; no current information indicates their continued presence in any of these areas. It was recently collected in Baca County, Colorado.

Capsules of dead plants sometimes form pineconelike clusters of ten to 100 or more capsules.

The illegitimate names Lavauxia nuttalliana Spach and L. triloba (Nuttall) Spach var. watsonii Britton pertain 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. Oenothera > subsect. Oenothera Onagraceae > subfam. Onagroideae > tribe Onagreae > Oenothera > sect. Lavauxia > subsect. Lavauxia
Sibling taxa
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. pallida, 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. xylocarpa
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. pallida, 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. tubicula, O. villosa, O. wolfii, O. xylocarpa
Synonyms O. hookeri subsp. wolfii, Var. o. var. o. Lavauxiahamata wooton, L. triloba, L. watsonii, O. hamata, O. rhizocarpa, O. roemeriana, O. triloba var. parviflora, O. triloba
Name authority (Munz) P. H. Raven, W. Dietrich & Stubbe: Syst. Bot. 4: 244. (1980) Nuttall: J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 2: 118. (1821)
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