Difference between revisions of "Oenothera"

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Gaura (Greek, superb). Onagraceae. This includes several herbs which are distinct in appearance, but scarcely possess general garden value, although they are pleasant incidents in the hardy border for those who like native plants.
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{{SPlantbox
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|familia=Onagraceae
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|genus=Oenothera
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|Temp Metric=°F
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|jumpin=If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!
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|image=Floare galbena bgiu.jpg
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|image_width=180
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|image_caption=Oenothera erythrosepala
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}}
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{{Inc|
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Oenothera (said to be Greek for wine-scenting; in allusion to an ancient  use of the roots). Onagraceae. Evening Primrose. Flower-garden and border plants, prized for their showy bright yellow, rose or white flowers.
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Herbs, or sometimes shrubby at the base, annual, biennial and perennial, with alternate simple or pin- natisect Lvs. and mostly showy fls., which are yellow, white or rose-color: calyx with a tube prolonged beyond the angled or cylindrical ovary, with 4 usually strongly reflexed lobes; petals 4, mostly obovate or spatulate; stamens 8, with narrow mostly versatile anthers: fr. a 4-valved loculicidal caps.—The oenotheras are mostly dry-soil plants and are chiefly N. American, the known species being perhaps 90-100. Some of them are S. American, and Bentham & Hooker admit 1 plant which grows in Tasmania. The genus is polymorphous, and there is consequently great difference of opinion as to generic bounds. The marked differences reside in form of caps., character of calyx-tube or hypanthium, and in the habit of the plant. What is by some botanists regarded as 1 genus is broken up into 10 or a dozen genera by others. These genera are here treated mostly as subgenera, for the group is fairly homogeneous from the horticultural point of view, and an entirely new set of names in several strange genera could scarcely be forced on the trade, particularly since the botanists are themselves not in agreement. Godetia is kept separate (Vol. III). Some of the true oenotheras make glowing displays of yellow in the border; but the greater number of the species are of only secondary importance to the cultivator. Amongst the best of the border-plant species are OE. fruticosa var. Youngii, OE. linearis, OE. pratensis, OE. glauca var. Fraseri, OE. cespitosa, OE. missouriensis, OE. speciosa. There are numbers of showy species in the genus, and others than those here accounted for may be expected to appear in cult. In recent years, the genus has assumed unusual interest because of the de Vriesian studies of evolution, founded on the mutations or elementary species in the Onagra group.
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The oenotheras are of wide distribution in North America. They are open-ground sun-loving plants. Many of them are prominent plants of the prairies and plains. Some of them grow on the seacoasts and others in moist ground, but they are not marsh plants. The several widespread field species, the dead stalks of which, with the split upright pods (Fig. 2566), are conspicuous in pastures and on roadsides, are grouped together in current floras under the name OE. biennis, but show great diversity among themselves. They are not ornamental plants, although the flowers that open first are usually rather large and attractive. The plants of the subgenus Kneiffia afford the sundrops of gardens; these cultivated plants are not well understood botanically, and it is not unlikely that some of them are hybrids or mutants.
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There is nothing special to say about the culture of oenotheras except to note the tender kinds and the biennials. All do well in ordinary garden soil, enjoying sunshine. They are easily raised from seeds and cuttings. OE. acaulis, OE. caespitosa are low-growing biennials which do well treated as annuals. They will not endure the winter. OE. missouriensis is an excellent trailer, with enormous yellow flowers and seed vessels. It is quite hardy, and a fine rock-garden plant. OE. biennis, the common evening primrose, is rather weedy, and fit only for the wilder parts of the garden. OE. Lamarckiana is a better form. OE. fruticosa and OE. Fraseri are two of our best border kinds, with stiff branching stems. OE. linearis is a pretty little species, often naturalized but well worth growing. Child's Mexican primrose is tender, but makes a pretty plant for hanging-pots. OE. speciosa is a fine species, it spreads so quickly by underground stems as to become a weed in favorable situations: it is good for naturalizing in wild grounds.
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OE. Arendsii, Bowles. Said to be a hybrid of OE. speciosa and OE. rosea, ("OE. speciosa var. rosea") hardier than the former: spreads freely from the base, blooming on the young shoots: fls. large, delicate shade of pink with white eye. Gn. 76, p. 638.
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{{Inc|
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Oenothera (aka Gaura, meaning superb in Greek). Onagraceae. This includes several herbs which are distinct in appearance, but scarcely possess general garden value, although they are pleasant incidents in the hardy border for those who like native plants.
  
 
Annual, biennial or perennial plants confined to the warmer regions of N. Amer.: lvs. alternate, sessile or stalked, entire, dentate, or sinuate: fls. white or rose, in spikes or racemes; calyx-tube deciduous, obconical. much prolonged beyond the ovary, with 4 reflexed lobes; petals clawed, unequal; stamens mostly 8. with a small scale-like appendage before the base of each filament; stigma 4-lobed, surrounded by a ring or cup- like border: fr. nut-like, 3^-ribbed, finally 1-celled, and 1—4-seeded.—Species 20-25. The bloom ascends the slender racemes too slowly to make the plants as showy as possible. The best kind is G. lindheimeri, which has white fls. of singular appearance, with rosy calyx-tubes. Gauras are easily prop, by seed. They prefer light soils, and the seedlings can be transplanted directly into permanent quarters.
 
Annual, biennial or perennial plants confined to the warmer regions of N. Amer.: lvs. alternate, sessile or stalked, entire, dentate, or sinuate: fls. white or rose, in spikes or racemes; calyx-tube deciduous, obconical. much prolonged beyond the ovary, with 4 reflexed lobes; petals clawed, unequal; stamens mostly 8. with a small scale-like appendage before the base of each filament; stigma 4-lobed, surrounded by a ring or cup- like border: fr. nut-like, 3^-ribbed, finally 1-celled, and 1—4-seeded.—Species 20-25. The bloom ascends the slender racemes too slowly to make the plants as showy as possible. The best kind is G. lindheimeri, which has white fls. of singular appearance, with rosy calyx-tubes. Gauras are easily prop, by seed. They prefer light soils, and the seedlings can be transplanted directly into permanent quarters.
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{{SCH}}
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}}
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==Cultivation==
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===Propagation===
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===Pests and diseases===
  
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{{Taxobox
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| color = lightgreen
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==Species==
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| name = ''Oenothera''
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About 125, including{{wp}}:<br/>
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| image = Floare galbena bgiu.jpg
 
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| image_width = 240px
 
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| image_caption = ''[[Oenothera erythrosepala]]''
 
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| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
 
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| divisio = [[Magnoliophyta]]
 
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| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
 
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| ordo = [[Myrtales]]
 
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| familia = [[Onagraceae]]
 
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| genus = '''''Oenothera'''''
 
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| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
 
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| subdivision_ranks = Species
 
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| subdivision =  
 
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About 125, including:<br/>
 
 
''[[Oenothera acaulis]]''<br/>
 
''[[Oenothera acaulis]]''<br/>
 
''[[Oenothera albicaulis]]''<br/>
 
''[[Oenothera albicaulis]]''<br/>
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''[[Oenothera tetraptera]]''<br/>
 
''[[Oenothera tetraptera]]''<br/>
 
''[[Oenothera triloba]]''
 
''[[Oenothera triloba]]''
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}}
 
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'''''Oenothera''''' is a genus of about 125 species of [[Annual plant|annual]], [[biennial]] and [[Perennial plant|perennial]] [[herbaceous]] flowering plants, native to [[the Americas|North and South America]]. It is the [[type genus]] of the family [[Onagraceae]]. Common names include '''evening primrose''', '''suncups''', and '''sundrops'''.
 
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The species vary in size from small alpine plants 10 cm tall (e.g. ''O. acaulis'' from [[Chile]]), to vigorous lowland species growing to 3 m (e.g. ''O. stubbei'' from [[Mexico]]). The [[leaf|leaves]] form a basal rosette at ground level and spiral up to the flowering stems; the leaves are dentate or deeply lobed (pinnatifid). The [[flower]]s open in the evening, hence the name "evening primrose", and are yellow in most species but white, purple, pink or red in a few; there are four petals. One of the most distinctive features of the flower is the [[Stigma (flower)|stigma]] with four branches, forming an X shape.<ref>{{cite book | title=A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America | author=[[Roger Tory Peterson]] and Margaret McKenny | isbn=0-395-91172-9 | year=1968}}</ref>  [[Pollination]] is by [[Lepidoptera]] (moths) and [[bee]]s; like many members of the [[Onagraceae]], however, the pollen grains are loosely held together by viscin threads (see photo below), meaning that only bees that are morphologically specialized to gather this pollen can effectively pollinate the flowers (it cannot be held effectively in a typical bee [[scopa (biology)|scopa]]). Furthermore, the flowers are open at a time when most bee species are inactive, so the bees which visit ''Oenothera'' are also compelled to be [[vespertine (biology)|vespertine]] temporal specialists. The [[seed]]s ripen from late summer to fall.
 
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''Oenothera'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including ''[[Schinia|Schinia felicitata]]'' and ''[[Schinia|Schinia florida]]'', both of which feed exclusively on the genus, the former exclusively on ''O. deltoides''.
 
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In the wild, evening primroses acts as primary colonizers, springing up wherever a patch of bare, undisturbed ground may be found. This means that they tend to be found in poorer environments such as [[dune]]s, roadsides, railway embankments and wasteland. It often occurs as a casual, eventually being out-competed by other species.
 
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{| align=left
 
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|[[Image:Evening primrose - England - large.JPG|thumb|left|An evening primrose cultivated in England]]
 
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|[[Image:Primrose-brighter.jpg|thumb|left|An evening primrose blossom opening in Pennsylvania]]
 
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|[[Image:Oenothera pollen.jpg|thumb|left|Pollen of ''Oenothera fruticosa'' (scanning electron microscope image)]]
 
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|}
 
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The genus ''Oenothera'' may have originated in [[Mexico]] and [[Central America]]. During the [[Pleistocene]] era a succession of [[ice age]]s swept down across [[North America]], with intervening warm periods. This was repeated for four ice ages, with four separate waves of colonization, each hybridizing with the remnants of the previous waves. This generated a present-day population that is very rich in [[genetic diversity]], spread right across the North American continent.
 
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It was originally assigned to the genus ''Onagra'', which gave the family Onagraceae its name. ''Onagra'' (meaning "(food of) [[onager]]") was first used in [[botany]] in 1587, and in English in [[Philip Miller]]'s 1754 ''Gardeners Dictionary: Abridged''. Its modern name ''Oenothera'' was published by [[Carolus Linnaeus]] in his ''[[Systema Naturae]]''. [[William Baird]] suggests that since ''oeno'' means "wine" in Greek it refers to the fact that the root of the edible ''Oenothera biennis'' was used as a wine flavor additive.{{Fact|date=April 2007}}
 
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[[Image:Oenothera speciosa0.jpg|right|thumb|An evening primrose flower, showing the cross-shaped stigma]]
 
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===Cultivation and uses===
 
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Young [[root]]s can be eaten like a vegetable (with a [[black pepper|peppery]] flavour), or the [[shoots]] can be eaten as a [[salad]]. The whole plant was used to prepare an [[infusion]] with [[astringent]] and [[sedative]] properties. It was considered to be effective in healing [[asthmatic]] coughs, [[digestive|gastro-intestinal]] disorders, [[Pertussis|whooping cough]] and as a sedative pain-killer. Poultices containing ''O. biennis'' were at one time used to ease [[bruise]]s and speed [[wound]] healing. One of the common names for ''Oenothera'', "Kings cureall", reflects the wide range of healing powers ascribed to this plant, although it should be noted that its efficacy for these purposes has not been demonstrated in clinical trials.
 
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The mature seeds contain approximately 7-10[[%]] [[gamma-linolenic acid]], a rare [[essential fatty acid]]. The ''O. biennis'' seed oil is used to reduce the pains of [[premenstrual stress syndrome]]. Gamma-linolenic acid also shows promise against breast cancer.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4395826.stm | title=Plant oil 'acts like cancer drug' | date=[[2005-11-02]]}} (describing work by Dr Javier Menendez and colleagues at Northwestern University and published in ''Journal of the National Cancer Institute'').</ref>
 
  
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Evening Primroses are very popular [[ornamental plant]]s in gardens. For propagation, the seeds can be [[sowing|sown]] ''in situ'' from late spring to early summer. The plant will grow successfully in fertile soils if competing species are kept at bay. Evening primrose species can be planted in any ordinary, dry, well-drained garden [[soil]] (preferly [[sand]]y [[loam]]) in an open site that is sunny to partly shady. They are fairly [[drought]]-resistant.
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==Gallery==
  
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The first plants to arrive in Europe reached [[Padua]] from [[Virginia]] in [[1614]] and were described by the English botanist [[John Goodyer]] in 1621. Some species are now also [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalized]] in parts of [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], and can be grown as far north as 65° N in [[Finland]]. The UK National Council for the Conservation of Plants and Gardens, based at [[Wisley]], maintains an ''Oenothera'' collection as part of its National Collections scheme.
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<gallery perrow=5>
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Image:Evening primrose - England - large.JPG|An evening primrose cultivated in England
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Image:Primrose-brighter.jpg|An evening primrose blossom opening in Pennsylvania
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Image:Oenothera speciosa0.jpg|An evening primrose flower, showing the cross-shaped stigma
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Image:Upload.png| photo 1
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Image:Upload.png| photo 2
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</gallery>
  
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== References ==
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==References==
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<references />
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<references/>
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*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
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<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
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<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
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<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->
  
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== External links ==
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==External links==
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{{commonscat}}
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*{{wplink}}
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* [http://ravenel.si.edu/botany/onagraceae/index.htm Clasification of the Evening Primrose Family at the Smithsonian Institution]
 
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* [http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/primro70.html Details from A Modern Herbal, by Mrs M Greives at Botanical.com]
 
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* [http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Oenothera+biennis Plants For A Future]
 
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* [http://www.birthscene.com/content.cfm?contentID=379 Pre and Post Natal Botanical Therapies at Birthscene]
 
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* [http://permaculture.info/cgi-bin/eden?plant=4389 Permaculture.info]
 
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* [http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsHerbs/EveningPrimrosech.html EP as complementary medicine]
 
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* [http://www.medicinenet.com/evening_primrose_oil-oral/article.htm Evening Primrose Oil]
 
  
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[[Category:Flowers]]
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{{stub}}
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[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
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__NOTOC__
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[[Category:Onagraceae]]
 

Latest revision as of 20:06, 22 February 2010


Oenothera erythrosepala


Plant Characteristics
Cultivation
Scientific Names

Onagraceae >

Oenothera >


If this plant info box on watering; zones; height; etc. is mostly empty you can click on the edit tab and fill in the blanks!



Read about Oenothera in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Oenothera (said to be Greek for wine-scenting; in allusion to an ancient use of the roots). Onagraceae. Evening Primrose. Flower-garden and border plants, prized for their showy bright yellow, rose or white flowers.

Herbs, or sometimes shrubby at the base, annual, biennial and perennial, with alternate simple or pin- natisect Lvs. and mostly showy fls., which are yellow, white or rose-color: calyx with a tube prolonged beyond the angled or cylindrical ovary, with 4 usually strongly reflexed lobes; petals 4, mostly obovate or spatulate; stamens 8, with narrow mostly versatile anthers: fr. a 4-valved loculicidal caps.—The oenotheras are mostly dry-soil plants and are chiefly N. American, the known species being perhaps 90-100. Some of them are S. American, and Bentham & Hooker admit 1 plant which grows in Tasmania. The genus is polymorphous, and there is consequently great difference of opinion as to generic bounds. The marked differences reside in form of caps., character of calyx-tube or hypanthium, and in the habit of the plant. What is by some botanists regarded as 1 genus is broken up into 10 or a dozen genera by others. These genera are here treated mostly as subgenera, for the group is fairly homogeneous from the horticultural point of view, and an entirely new set of names in several strange genera could scarcely be forced on the trade, particularly since the botanists are themselves not in agreement. Godetia is kept separate (Vol. III). Some of the true oenotheras make glowing displays of yellow in the border; but the greater number of the species are of only secondary importance to the cultivator. Amongst the best of the border-plant species are OE. fruticosa var. Youngii, OE. linearis, OE. pratensis, OE. glauca var. Fraseri, OE. cespitosa, OE. missouriensis, OE. speciosa. There are numbers of showy species in the genus, and others than those here accounted for may be expected to appear in cult. In recent years, the genus has assumed unusual interest because of the de Vriesian studies of evolution, founded on the mutations or elementary species in the Onagra group.

The oenotheras are of wide distribution in North America. They are open-ground sun-loving plants. Many of them are prominent plants of the prairies and plains. Some of them grow on the seacoasts and others in moist ground, but they are not marsh plants. The several widespread field species, the dead stalks of which, with the split upright pods (Fig. 2566), are conspicuous in pastures and on roadsides, are grouped together in current floras under the name OE. biennis, but show great diversity among themselves. They are not ornamental plants, although the flowers that open first are usually rather large and attractive. The plants of the subgenus Kneiffia afford the sundrops of gardens; these cultivated plants are not well understood botanically, and it is not unlikely that some of them are hybrids or mutants.

There is nothing special to say about the culture of oenotheras except to note the tender kinds and the biennials. All do well in ordinary garden soil, enjoying sunshine. They are easily raised from seeds and cuttings. OE. acaulis, OE. caespitosa are low-growing biennials which do well treated as annuals. They will not endure the winter. OE. missouriensis is an excellent trailer, with enormous yellow flowers and seed vessels. It is quite hardy, and a fine rock-garden plant. OE. biennis, the common evening primrose, is rather weedy, and fit only for the wilder parts of the garden. OE. Lamarckiana is a better form. OE. fruticosa and OE. Fraseri are two of our best border kinds, with stiff branching stems. OE. linearis is a pretty little species, often naturalized but well worth growing. Child's Mexican primrose is tender, but makes a pretty plant for hanging-pots. OE. speciosa is a fine species, it spreads so quickly by underground stems as to become a weed in favorable situations: it is good for naturalizing in wild grounds.

OE. Arendsii, Bowles. Said to be a hybrid of OE. speciosa and OE. rosea, ("OE. speciosa var. rosea") hardier than the former: spreads freely from the base, blooming on the young shoots: fls. large, delicate shade of pink with white eye. Gn. 76, p. 638.


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.



Read about Oenothera in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Oenothera (aka Gaura, meaning superb in Greek). Onagraceae. This includes several herbs which are distinct in appearance, but scarcely possess general garden value, although they are pleasant incidents in the hardy border for those who like native plants.

Annual, biennial or perennial plants confined to the warmer regions of N. Amer.: lvs. alternate, sessile or stalked, entire, dentate, or sinuate: fls. white or rose, in spikes or racemes; calyx-tube deciduous, obconical. much prolonged beyond the ovary, with 4 reflexed lobes; petals clawed, unequal; stamens mostly 8. with a small scale-like appendage before the base of each filament; stigma 4-lobed, surrounded by a ring or cup- like border: fr. nut-like, 3^-ribbed, finally 1-celled, and 1—4-seeded.—Species 20-25. The bloom ascends the slender racemes too slowly to make the plants as showy as possible. The best kind is G. lindheimeri, which has white fls. of singular appearance, with rosy calyx-tubes. Gauras are easily prop, by seed. They prefer light soils, and the seedlings can be transplanted directly into permanent quarters. CH


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


Cultivation

Propagation

Pests and diseases

Species

About 125, includingwp:
Oenothera acaulis
Oenothera albicaulis
Oenothera argillicola
Oenothera biennis
Oenothera brachycarpa
Oenothera caespitosa
Oenothera californica
Oenothera coronopifolia
Oenothera coryi
Oenothera deltoides
Oenothera drummondii
Oenothera elata
Oenothera erythrosepala
Oenothera flava
Oenothera fruticosa
Oenothera glazioviana
Oenothera hookeri
Oenothera jamesii
Oenothera kunthiana
Oenothera laciniata
Oenothera longissima
Oenothera macrocarpa
Oenothera missouriensis
Oenothera nuttallii
Oenothera pallida
Oenothera perennis
Oenothera pilosella
Oenothera primiveris
Oenothera rhombipetala
Oenothera rosea
Oenothera speciosa
Oenothera stubbei
Oenothera taraxacoides
Oenothera tetraptera
Oenothera triloba

Gallery

  • An evening primrose cultivated in England

  • An evening primrose blossom opening in Pennsylvania

  • An evening primrose flower, showing the cross-shaped stigma

  • photo 1

  • photo 2

References

External links


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