Oenothera albicaulis

Oenothera albicaulis
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Onagraceae
Genus:	Oenothera
Species:	O. albicaulis
Binomial name
Oenothera albicaulis Pursh
Synonyms [2]
Anogra albicaulis(Pursh) Britton Oenothera purshii G.Don

Oenothera albicaulis is a New World plant in the evening primrose family. It is known by the common names prairie evening-primrose, ^[3] white-stem evening-primrose, ^[4] whitish evening primrose, ^[5] or whitest evening primrose. ^[6]

Taxonomy

Oenothera albicaulis was scientifically described and named by Frederick Traugott Pursh in 1813. It is classified in the genus Oenothera , part of the family Onagraceae. It has no accepted subspecies or varieties, but has 30 synonyms according to Plants of the World Online. ^[2]

Table of Synonyms

Name	Year	Rank	Notes
Anogra albicaulis(Pursh) Britton	1894	species	≡ hom.
Anogra bradburianaRydb.	1917	species	= het.
Anogra confusaRickett	1934	species	= het.
Anogra ctenophyllaWooton & Standl.	1913	species	= het.
Anogra douglasianaSpach	1835	species	= het.
Anogra leptophylla(Nutt.) Rydb.	1913	species	= het.
Anogra pinnatifidaSpach	1835	species	= het.
Baumannia pinnatifida(Nutt.) Spach	1835	species	= het.
Oenothera albicaulisNutt.	1818	species	= het., nom. illeg.
Oenothera albicaulis f. acaulisH.Lév.	1909	form	= het.
Oenothera albicaulis f. anthoxanthaH.Lév.	1909	form	= het.
Oenothera albicaulis subvar. coquimbensisH.Lév.	1909	subvariety	= het.
Oenothera albicaulis f. decumbensH.Lév.	1909	form	= het., nom. illeg.
Oenothera albicaulis f. dentataH.Lév.	1909	form	= het.
Oenothera albicaulis f. erosaH.Lév.	1909	form	= het.
Oenothera albicaulis f. mucronataH.Lév.	1909	form	= het.
Oenothera albicaulis f. pinnatifidaH.Lév.	1909	form	= het.
Oenothera albicaulis f. sinuataH.Lév.	1909	form	= het.
Oenothera albicaulis var. tigrinaH.Lév.	1909	variety	= het.
Oenothera albicaulis var. xanthospermaH.Lév.	1909	variety	= het.
Oenothera bradburianaNutt.	1840	species	= het.
Oenothera ctenophylla(Wooton & Standl.) Tidestr.	1941	species	= het.
Oenothera leptophyllaNutt.	1840	species	= het.
Oenothera nuttalliiSweet	1830	species	= het., not validly publ.
Oenothera pallida var. leptophyllaTorr. & A.Gray	1840	variety	= het.
Oenothera pinnatifidaNutt.	1818	species	= het.
Oenothera pinnatifidaTorr.	1827	species	= het., nom. illeg.
Oenothera pinnatifida var. integrifoliaA.Gray	1849	variety	= het.
Oenothera purshiiG.Don	1832	species	≡ hom., nom. superfl.
Oenothera sinuata var. bicolorH.Lév.	1909	variety	= het.
Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym; = heterotypic synonym

Distribution

Oenothera albicaulis is native to North America, in the United States (Arizona; Colorado; Montana; New Mexico; Oklahoma; South Dakota; Texas; and Utah), and in Mexico (in Chihuahua state). ^[4]

Uses

The Zuni people rub the chewed blossoms on the bodies of young girls so that they can dance well and ensure rain. ^[5]

References

1. NatureServe (2 May 2025). "Oenothera albicaulis". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
2. "Oenothera albicaulis Pursh". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 8 July 2025.
3. "Name - !Oenothera albicaulis Pursh". Tropicos. Saint Louis, Missouri: Missouri Botanical Garden . Retrieved April 7, 2013.
4. Oenothera albicaulis was originally described and published in Flora Americae Septentrionalis 2: 733. 1814 [1813] "Oenothera albicaulis". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved April 7, 2013.
5. Stevenson, Matilda Coxe (1915). "Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians". SI-BAE Annual Report (30): 87.
6. NRCS. "Oenothera albicaulis". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 21 July 2015.

External links

• Picture of an Oenothera albicaulis flower, from Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness in association with Western New Mexico University Department of Natural Sciences