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| Oenothera elata | |
|---|---|
| |
| Oenothera elata subsp. hookeri | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Onagraceae |
| Genus: | Oenothera |
| Species: | O. elata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Oenothera elata | |
| Subspecies[2] | |
| |
Oenothera elata is a species of Oenothera known by the common name Hooker's evening primrose or tall evening primrose. Subspecies include hookeri, hirsutissima, longisima, jamesii, villosa and elata.[3] It is native to much of western and central North America. The plants are quite tall, especially the hookeri subspecies, native to California, which can reach about 1.8 meters (6 feet) height.[4] The plants are found along roadsides, in moist meadows, or in woodland, from sea level up to 9,000 ft (2,700 m) in elevation.[5]
Description
[edit]The stout, usually reddish stem has many long, narrow leaves, above a basal rosette. At its top is a large, open cluster of 2- to 4-inch wide yellow flowers with 4 large petals and protruding yellow stamens and 4-branched pistil, often covered in sticky pollen. The fragrant flowers open at dusk and wilt the next morning, turning orange or red.[5]
Taxonomy
[edit]Oenothera elata was scientifically described and given its accepted name by Carl Sigismund Kunth in 1823.[2] It has 50 synonyms of the species or one of its three subspecies according to Plants of the World Online.[2][6][7][8]
| Name | Year | Rank | Synonym of: | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oenothera biennis f. hookeri (Torr. & A.Gray) B.Boivin | 1966 | form | subsp. hookeri | ≡ hom. |
| Oenothera biennis var. hirsutissima A.Gray ex S.Watson | 1873 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | ≡ hom. |
| Oenothera biennis var. hookeri (Torr. & A.Gray) B.Boivin | 1967 | variety | subsp. hookeri | ≡ hom. |
| Oenothera communis var. hookeri (Torr. & A.Gray) H.Lév. | 1909 | variety | subsp. hookeri | ≡ hom. |
| Oenothera corymbosa Sims | 1818 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het., nom. illeg. |
| Oenothera elata var. hirsutissima (A.Gray) Cronquist | 1997 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | ≡ hom. |
| Oenothera elata subsp. texensis W.Dietr. & W.L.Wagner | 1987 | subspecies | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera franciscana Bartlett | 1914 | species | subsp. hookeri | = het. |
| Oenothera grisea (Bartlett) Rostański | 1985 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het., nom. illeg. |
| Oenothera guttata (Greene ex R.R.Gates) R.R.Gates | 1933 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het., nom. illeg. |
| Oenothera hewettii Cockerell | 1919 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hirsutissima (A.Gray ex S.Watson) de Vries | 1901 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | ≡ hom. |
| Oenothera hookeri Torr. & A.Gray | 1840 | species | subsp. hookeri | ≡ hom. |
| Oenothera hookeri subsp. angustifolia (R.R.Gates) Munz | 1949 | subspecies | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. angustifolia R.R.Gates | 1915 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri subsp. euhookeri Munz | 1949 | subspecies | subsp. hookeri | ≡ hom., not validly publ. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. euhookeri Munz | 1949 | variety | subsp. hookeri | ≡ hom., not validly publ. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. franciscana (Bartlett) R.R.Gates | 1957 | variety | subsp. hookeri | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri subsp. grisea (Bartlett) Munz | 1949 | subspecies | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri subsp. hewettii Cockerell | 1913 | subspecies | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. hewettii (Cockerell) R.R.Gates | 1957 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri subsp. hirsutissima (A.Gray ex S.Watson) Munz | 1949 | subspecies | subsp. hirsutissima | ≡ hom. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. hirsutissima (A.Gray ex S.Watson) Munz | 1939 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | ≡ hom. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. irrigua (Wooton & Standl.) R.R.Gates | 1915 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri subsp. montereyensis Munz | 1949 | subspecies | subsp. hookeri | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. montereyensis (Munz) Hoover | 1970 | variety | subsp. hookeri | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri subsp. ornata (A.Nelson) Munz | 1949 | subspecies | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. ornata (A.Nelson) Munz | 1949 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. semiglabra R.R.Gates | 1915 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri var. simsiana (Ser.) R.R.Gates | 1957 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera hookeri subsp. venusta (Bartlett) Munz | 1949 | subspecies | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera irrigua Wooton & Standl. | 1913 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera jepsonii Greene | 1891 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera macbrideae (A.Nelson) A.Heller | 1913 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera macbrideae var. ornata (A.Nelson) R.R.Gates | 1957 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera montereyensis (Munz) Rostański | 1985 | species | subsp. hookeri | = het. |
| Oenothera ornata (A.Nelson) Rydb. | 1913 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera salicifolia Desf. ex Lehm. | 1824 | species | subsp. elata | = het., nom. illeg. |
| Oenothera simsiana Ser. | 1828 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera spectabilis Spach | 1835 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het., nom. illeg. |
| Oenothera venusta Bartlett | 1914 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Oenothera venusta var. grisea Bartlett | 1914 | variety | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Onagra elata (Kunth) Bartl. | 1838 | species | O. elata | ≡ hom. |
| Onagra guttata Greene ex R.R.Gates | 1915 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Onagra hookeri (Torr. & A.Gray) Small | 1896 | species | subsp. hookeri | ≡ hom. |
| Onagra kunthiana Spach | 1835 | species | subsp. elata | = het. |
| Onagra macbrideae A.Nelson | 1911 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Onagra ornata A.Nelson | 1911 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Onagra salicifolia Spach | 1835 | species | subsp. elata | = het. |
| Onagra spectabilis Spach | 1835 | species | subsp. hirsutissima | = het. |
| Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym ; = heterotypic synonym | ||||
Uses
[edit]The Zuni people apply a poultice of the powdered flower of the hookeri subspecies and saliva at night to swellings.[9]
Gallery
[edit]-
Oenothera elata (Hooker's evening primrose), Irvine CA -
Oenothera elata flowers, Eastern Sierra, CA -
E. elata var hookeri, Water Conservation Garden, El Cajon CA -
Oenothera elata: basal & stem leaves, reddish stems, large yellow flowers, & drying orange-red flowers
References
[edit]- ^ NatureServe (5 September 2025). "Oenothera elata". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
- ^ a b c "Oenothera elata Kunth". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
- ^ "Oenothera elata". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
- ^ "Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p. 612. Könemann, 2004. ISBN 3-8331-1253-0
- ^ a b Laird R. Blackwell (2002). Wildflowers of the Eastern Sierra and Adjoining Mojave Desert and Great Basin. Lone Pine Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55105-281-6.
- ^ "Oenothera elata subsp. elata". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
- ^ "Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima (A.Gray) W.Dietr". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
- ^ "Oenothera elata subsp. hookeri (Torr. & A.Gray) W.Dietr. & W.L.Wagner". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
- ^ Camazine, Scott; Bye, Robert A. (1980). "A Study Of The Medical Ethnobotany Of The Zuni Indians of New Mexico". Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 2 (4): 365–388 [377]. doi:10.1016/s0378-8741(80)81017-8. PMID 6893476.
Further reading
[edit]- Raven, Peter; Dietrich, Werner; Stubbe, Wilfried (Autumn 1979). "An Outline of the Systematics of Oenothera Subsect. Euoenothera (Onagraceae)". Systematic Botany. 4 (3): 242–252. doi:10.2307/2418422. JSTOR 2418422.
- Dietrich, Werner; L. Wagner, Warren (1987). "A New Combination and New Subspecies in Oenothera Elata Kunth (Onagraceae)". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 74 (1): 151–152. doi:10.2307/2399273. JSTOR 2399273.
External links
[edit]- Calflora Database: Oenothera elata (Hooker's evening primrose)
- Jepson Manual eFlora treatment of Oenothera elata
- Photo gallery
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