Oenothera is a genus of about 145 species of herbaceous flowering plants native to the Americas. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. Common names include evening primrose, suncups, and sundrops. They are not closely related to the true primroses.
Oenothera speciosa is a species in the evening primrose family known by several common names, including pinkladies, pink evening primrose, showy evening primrose, Mexican primrose, and buttercups.
Oenothera biennis, the common evening-primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family Onagraceae, native to eastern and central North America, from Newfoundland west to Alberta, southeast to Florida, and southwest to Texas, and widely naturalized elsewhere in temperate and subtropical regions. Evening primrose oil is produced from the plant.
Oenothera caespitosa, known commonly as tufted evening primrose, desert evening primrose, rock-rose evening primrose, or fragrant evening primrose, is a perennial plant of the genus Oenothera native to much of western and central North America, in habitats such as talus slopes and sandy plains. It is normally night-blooming.
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. 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 height. 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.
Oenothera deltoides is a species of evening primrose known by several common names, including birdcage evening primrose, basket evening primrose, lion in a cage, and devil's lantern. It is native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in sandy habitats from desert to beach.
Oenothera suffrutescens is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known as scarlet beeblossom and scarlet gaura.
Gaura sinuata is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names wavyleaf beeblossom and Red River gaura. In 2007 the species, along with the genus Gaura was reclassified in the genus Oenothera. This species then becomes O. sinuosa in Oenothera Section Gaura.
Clarkia franciscana is a rare species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Presidio clarkia. It is endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where it is known only from two populations at the Presidio of San Francisco and three occurrences in Oakland. The plant is known only from serpentine soils.
Oenothera californica, known by the common name California evening primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family.
Oenothera glazioviana is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names large-flowered evening-primrose and redsepal evening primrose. Oenothera lamarckiana was formerly believed to be a different species, but is now regarded as a synonym of Oe. glazioviana.
Oenothera longissima is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name longstem evening primrose. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it grows in relatively moist areas in scrub and woodland habitat. This is a biennial herb producing a tall, erect stem known to well exceed 2 meters in height. The widely lance-shaped leaves may be 22 centimeters in length and may have slight teeth along the edges. The inflorescence is a spike of showy large flowers. Each has yellow petals which may be more than 6 centimeters in length and fade orange or red with age. The fruit is a lance-shaped capsule up to 5.5 centimeters long.
Oenothera primiveris is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names yellow desert evening primrose, bottle evening-primrose, and desert evening-primrose.
Oenothera wolfii is a rare species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Wolf's evening primrose. It is native to the coastline of southern Oregon and northern California, where it grows in coastal prairie, dunes, and coastal forest and woodland habitat. As of 1997 it was known from only about 16 occurrences. The biggest threat to the plant is its easy hybridization with its relative and probable descendant, Oenothera glazioviana. As this rare wild plant crosses with the introduced garden escapee, introgression occurs, causing what is known as genetic pollution; fewer pure individuals of O. wolfii will be seen as they are outnumbered by hybrids.
Oenothera xylocarpa is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name woodyfruit evening primrose. It is native to the Sierra Nevada of California, its range extending just into western Nevada. It grows in coniferous forest and meadow habitat, often in soils rich in pumice and other gravel. It is a perennial herb growing from a thick taproot and producing a flat, dense rosette of hairy, gray-green leaves. There is no stem. The showy flowers appear amidst the leaves. Each has four petals which may be nearly 4 centimeters long, bright yellow in color, fading pink to red with age. The fruit is a straight, curving, or twisting capsule which may be up to 9 centimeters long.
Oenothera macrocarpa, the bigfruit evening primrose, Ozark sundrops, Missouri evening primrose, or Missouri primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family Onagraceae, native to northeast Mexico and the south-central United States, where it is found in calcareous prairies and limestone outcrops.
Mirabilis macfarlanei is a rare species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common name MacFarlane's four o'clock. It is native to Idaho and Oregon in the United States, where it is only known from three river canyons. It faces a number of threats and is federally listed as a threatened species of the United States.
Phacelia argillacea is a rare species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common names clay phacelia and Atwood's phacelia. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known only from one canyon in Utah County. It is "one of Utah's most endangered species"; it is "one of the nation's rarest plants" and is federally listed as an endangered species of the United States.
Oenothera harringtonii is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names Arkansas Valley evening primrose and Colorado Springs evening primrose. It is endemic to the state of Colorado in the United States.
Oenothera versicolor, the red evening-primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family Onagraceae, native to South America, from Peru and Ecuador down to Bolivia and Northern Argentina This species is not as common in cultivation as other members of the genus but popular cultivars including 'Sunset Boulevard' are grown in gardens around the temperate world as the plant is hardy down to at least −10 °C (14 °F).
