Scientific Family
Onagraceae
Other common names
long-tube evening primrose
yellow evening-primrose
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
To 8 inches
Riparian
Yes
Basal rosettes of bright green leaves arise from fleshy taproots; leaves sharply cleft to lobed, similar to dandelion greens; yellow flowers are up 1-1/2 inches long, very fragrant, attract hawk moths.
Leaves basal. Flowers yellow, opening mostly in late afternoon. Floral tube (hypanthium) 1-1/2 to 3 inches long, sepals and petals up to 3/4 inch long. Stigma with 4 narrow lobes; seed capsule sharply 4-angled; seeds in 2 rows in the capsule.
Habitat
Found on clay soils in drying depressions, damp flats, meadows, stream banks, scrub, pinyon juniper woodland and ponderosa pine communities.
Plant Community
Riparian
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
2500
High elevation
9000
Flower Characteristics
Flowers borne in leaf axils are yellow fading to pale orange or pinkish-red; petals and sepals are 1/2 to 3/4 inch long; stigma with 4 linear lobes are 1/8 to 1/4 inch long; hypanthium (floral tube) is up to 3 inches long.
Flower color
Yellow, fading pale orange, pinkish-red
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
None
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves are narrow to 8 inches long; margins are sharply cleft to lobed, without stems or nearly stemless, sparsely covered with short, soft hairs or can be nearly hairless.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Capsule hardened, ovoid, 4-angled, especially toward the tip, 1/2 to 1 inch long.
Fruit type
Capsule
Fruit color
Brown
Seeds in 2 rows in each cell, up to 1/16 inch long, winged around the blunt or rounded summit.