The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Wolf's evening-primrose

hairy evening-primrose, villous evening primrose, yellow 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 biennial, densely strigillose and either sparsely or moderately villous, with appressed or spreading hairs (sometimes with red-pustulate bases), distally sometimes also glandular puberulent.
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.

erect, usually flushed with red proximally, sometimes green or red throughout, unbranched or with branches obliquely arising from rosette and secondary branches arising from main stem, 50–200 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 and cauline, basal 10–30 × 1.2–4(–5) cm, cauline 5–20 × 1–2.5(–4) cm;

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

bracts persistent.

Inflorescences

erect, unbranched.

dense to open, 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.

opening near sunset;

buds erect, 3–5 mm diam., with free tips terminal, erect, 0.5–3 mm;

floral tube 23–44 mm;

sepals green to yellowish green, red-striped, or flushed with red, 9–18 mm;

petals yellow to pale yellow, fading orange or pale yellow, very broadly obcordate, 7–20 mm;

filaments 7–15 mm, anthers 4–10 mm, pollen ca. 50% fertile;

style 30–55 mm, stigma surrounded by anthers at anthesis.

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.

erect or slightly spreading, dull green or gray-green when dry, lanceoloid, 20–43 × 4–7 mm, free tips of valves 1–2 mm.

Seeds

0.9–2 × 0.9–1.3 mm.

1–2 × 0.5–1.2 mm.

2n

= 14.

Oenothera wolfii

Oenothera villosa

Phenology Flowering Jun–Oct.
Habitat Coarse-textured sandy or rocky sites, coastal dunes and bluffs, loose, sandy sites along roads, moist places.
Elevation 0–100(–800) m. (0–300(–2600) ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
North America [Introduced in s South America, Europe, Asia, s Africa]
[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.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Oenothera villosa is a PTH species and forms a ring of 14 chromosomes in meiosis, and is self-compatible and autogamous with plastome I and a AA genome composition (W. Dietrich et al. 1997). The original natural range of O. villosa was presumably from southern British Columbia south to California and east through the Rocky Mountain and the Great Plains regions. The wide occurrence east of this area in North America to eastern Quebec south throughout most of the eastern half of the United States, except for extreme southern and southeastern parts, is most likely the result of recent spread of this species, probably in the past several hundred years. Oenothera villosa is subdivided into two subspecies: subsp. strigosa occurs primarily in the Pacific Northwest southeast through the Rocky Mountains; subsp. villosa is found primarily from the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains eastward throughout the Great Plains region. Both taxa occur sporadically beyond these regions, and subsp. villosa is naturalized in many parts of the world.

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

Key
1. Inflorescences usually dense (internodes in fruit usually shorter than capsule); plants dull green to grayish green, densely strigillose and sometimes also sparsely villous with appressed or subappressed hairs, these without or with red or green pustulate bases, rarely sparsely glandular puberulent distally; sepals green to yellowish green; leaf blade margins conspicuously dentate, venation prominent, especially abaxially.
subsp. villosa
1. Inflorescences usually open (internodes in fruit usually as long as or longer than capsule); plants flushed with red at least proximally, often red throughout, strigillose, usually also villous with erect to sometimes appressed hairs with pustulate bases, pustules red, also glandular puberulent at least distally; sepals red-striped or flushed with red; leaf blade margins usually denticulate or subentire, sometimes moderately dentate, venation not prominent.
subsp. strigosa
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. Oenothera > subsect. Oenothera
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. triloba, O. tubicula, O. wolfii, O. xylocarpa
Subordinate taxa
O. villosa subsp. strigosa, O. villosa subsp. villosa
Synonyms O. hookeri subsp. wolfii, Var. o. var. o.
Name authority (Munz) P. H. Raven, W. Dietrich & Stubbe: Syst. Bot. 4: 244. (1980) Thunberg: Prodr. Pl. Cap., 75. (1794)
Web links