Oenothera villosa Thunb. subsp. villosa
hairy evening-primrose
Onagraceae (Evening Primrose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
hairy evening-primrose
Onagraceae (Evening Primrose family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
Map
Distribution of Oenothera villosa subsp. villosa
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Species Information
General:
Biennial herb from a stout taproot; forming rosette in first year and an erect, stiff stem in second; greyish stiff-hairy, also with spreading hairs from red blister-like bases; stems 50-200 cm tall, simple or branched.
Leaves:
Stem leaves alternate, ascending or spreading, lanceolate or elliptic, 10-30 cm long, entire to minutely-toothed, hairy.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a few-flowered, open spike, glandular, buds erect, opening in the evening, subtended by large bracts or reduced leaves; hypanthium 2.5-4 cm long; petals yellow, fading duller or pale orange, 0.7-2 cm long; sepals 0.9-1.8 cm long, often marked reddish, bent back when in flower, the free tips in bud 0.5-2.5 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules, erect, narrowly lanceolate, 2-3.5 cm long, 4-7 mm wide, more or less straight, 4-chambered, hairy; seeds 1-2 mm long, angled, irregularly pitted.
Habitat and Range
Dry shrubland, roadsides and disturbed areas in the lowland and steppe zones; infrequent in C and S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, rare along the coast, where probably introduced; E to ON and S to MI, WI, NE, NM, AZ and CA.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Oenothera albinervis R.R. Gates
Oenothera biennis var. canescens Torr. & A. Gray
Oenothera canovirens Steele
Oenothera depressa Greene
Oenothera strigosa subsp. canovirens (Steele) Munz
Oenothera villosa subsp. canovirens (Steele) W. Dietr. & P.H. Raven