Large-flower butterfly weed
Also known as: large-flowered gaura
Oenothera filiformis (Small) W. L. Wagner
[=Gaura longiflora Spach ]
Images
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Morphology
- Stem
- Erect, slender, usually single, usually much-branched above, densely hairy, sometimes glandular sticky; epidermis green or reddish green to brown.
- Leaves
- Alternate, simple, sessile, broadly lanceolate to elliptic, basal withering before anthesis, 2 to 12 inches long, .4 to 1.4 inch wide, nearly glabrous or finely hairy; margins entire to wavy or dentate; stem blades lanceolate to elliptic, .6 to 6 inches long, 1/12 to 1 inch wide, margins entire or shallowly sinuate-denticulate, surfaces glabrate or minutely strigulose or villous along veins; tips tapering-pointed.
- Inflorescence
- Spikes, long, slender, hairy, terminal.
- Flower
- Showy, sessile, about 1 inch long; sepals 4, to 3/5 inch long, reddish, appressed- or glandular-hairy, bent downward; petals 4, up to 3/5 inch long, white, fading pinkish, long-clawed; stamens 8, anthers red or yellow; style threadlike, stigma 4-lobed, extending past anthers.
- Fruit
- Capsules, nutlike, up to 1/4 inch long, 4-angled; seeds 2-4, yellowish to rust colored, ovoid.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Rocky tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies, roadsides, railroad rights-of-way, fields, open woodlands, thickets, waste ground.
- Distribution
- East 1/2 of Kansas.
Additional Notes
Comments
Large-flowered gaura has a winter rosette of leaves 2 to 12 inches across that withers by late spring.
Synonyms
Alternative scientific names that have been used for this plant.
Scientific Name: Gaura longiflora
Full Citation: Gaura longiflora Spach
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Wildflower
- Family
- Onagraceae - Evening Primrose Family
- Life Span
- Annual
- Height
- 2-9 feet
- Origin
- Native
- Last Updated
- 2023-09-10
Color Groups
Flowering Period
Blooms: July, August, September, October