Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Myrtales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Oenothera biennis
FAMILY
Onagraceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Common Evening Primrose at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Oenothera biennis
FAMILY
Onagraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10 (2021)
Oenothera biennis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Oenothera biennis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Oenothera biennis
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 137-02-001:
Oenothera biennis FAMILY Onagraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Oenothera biennis
COMMON NAME:
Common Evening-primrose
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_oebi_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_oebi_011_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm150415_317
April Greenville County SC
)
Jerry Bright jeb_mg_0521
July Haywood County? NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
Four broad yellow petals with notched tips. Yellow anthers extended, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm150714_493
July Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm150714_495
July Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm130823_509
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
JK Marlow jkm130823_514
August Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Lvs lanceolate to oblong, spiraling, ascending or spreading around stem, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm150813_004b
August Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm180813_3732
August Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm180813_3735
August Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm190804_0566
August Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm190804_0573
August Greenville County SC
Its erect stem may be 6' tall and is seldom branched except near the top, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm190804_0595
August Greenville County SC
)
Tim Spira tpsobiennis2
September
Flowers open at twilight, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm141009_115
October Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
Hypanthium present, prolonged above the inferior ovary as a calyx tube, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_oenothera_biennis_2
October
Sepals reflexed, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_oenothera_biennis_4
October
)
JK Marlow jkm111106_219
November Haywood County NC
Fruit a 4-chambered capsule, splitting from top to base, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm111106_222
November Haywood County NC
Cylindric capsule, 1.5-4cm long x 4-5mm wide, per Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Oenothera biennis
FAMILY
Onagraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Oenothera biennis
FAMILY
Onagraceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 10
Oenothera biennis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Oenothera biennis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Oenothera biennis
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 137-02-001:
Oenothera biennis
FAMILY
Onagraceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Oenothera biennis
980
Forb
Biennial
Habitat: Fields, pastures, roadsides, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Yellow
4-lobed calyx
4 petals
8 exserted stamens
Inferior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p207
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p134
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p084
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p134
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p237
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p211
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p057
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p161
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p266
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p152
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p188
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p409
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p107
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".