Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses - Hairy evening primrose

HAIRY EVENING PRIMROSE

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Oenothera villosa Thunb.

Riley County, Kansas

Biennial

Height: 1-6 feet

Family: Onagraceae - Evening Primrose Family

Flowering Period: July, August, September,October

Stems:

Erect, simple or much-branched above, densely appressed-hairy.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, sessile or short-stalked below, lanceolate, 3-6 inches long, .5-1.5 inches wide, grayish, appressed-hairy; margins wavy-toothed to nearly entire.

Inflorescences:

Spikes, simple or branched, terminal.

Flowers:

1 to 1.5 inches wide, floral tubes .75 to 1.5 inches long; sepals 4, .5 to .75 inch long, bending abruptly backward, nearly glabrous or hairy; tips pointed; petals 4, obovate, 1/3 to 2/3 inch long, yellow, fading orange; tips slightly notched; stamens 8, nearly as long as petals; stigma with 4 linear lobes.

Fruits:

Capsules, cylindric, .75 to 1.5 inches long, hairy; seeds small, egg-shaped, dark brown to black, often purple-spotted.

Habitat:

Prairie hillsides, waste areas, roadsides, open woods, and stream and lake edges, in dry or damp soils.

Distribution:

Throughout Kansas.

Origin:

Hairy evening primrose was introduced to Europe in the early 17th century, where its taproot was used as a parsnip-like vegetable.

Uses:

The Navajo mixed the dried leaves with tobacco and smoked it to bring good luck hunting.

Comments:

Flowers open in the evening and usually wither the following day. Oenothera villosa is quite similar to Oeonothera biennis.