Oenothera versicolor

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Oenothera versicolor
Oenothera campylocalyx 04.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Onagraceae
Genus: Oenothera
Species:
O. versicolor
Binomial name
Oenothera versicolor
Synonyms [1]
  • Oenothera campylocalyxK.Koch & C.D.Bouché
  • Oenothera cinnabarinaÉ.Morren
  • Oenothera coccineaBritton
  • Oenothera curvifoliaH.P.Fisch.
  • Oenothera fusca(K.Krause) Sprague & L.Riley
  • Onagra fuscaK.Krause

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 [2] 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). [3]

Other common names include sundrops, red sundrops, and orange evening-primrose.

Description

Oenothera versicolor is a bushy perennial growing to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall. [3] It blooms throughout summer and into early autumn. The flowers grow on spikes and are individually around 8-6cm in diameter with four petals each. The leaves are lanceolate and glossy. The reddish orange flowers appear in clusters around the top of the spike and are hermaphroditic. Unlike in some species of Oenothera, the flowers bloom during the day rather than at night although their superficial similarities to the common evening primrose still earns this species the title of evening-primrose.

The plant is erect and forms a basal rosette of leaves which are narrowly lanceolate and gradually narrow to the petiole. Most plants generally do not branch, instead, forming one main spike. The leaves are 20-25 cm long when mature and 1.5- 3.5 cm wide. The cauline (stem-growing) leaves are narrowly lanceolate, 8-12 cm long and 0.6-2 cm wide. They are usually sessile but may possess with a short petiole. The leaf margins are reddish, especially in the bracts of the young buds, and the inflorescence is mostly unbranched. Flowers have a corolla length of 1.2-2.5 cm and buds are reddish at the junction of the sepals with the corolla. The petals very broadly obovate, rounded or retuse, 1.2-2 cm long, yellow, red near the base and along the veins or entirely red. The anthers are 5-8 mm long with filaments 6-10 mm long. The style is mostly short so the anthers may shed pollen directly on the stigma. The ovary is 8-10 mm in length. The seeds of the Red Evening-primrose form in capsules which are generally around 1.5-3 cm long, 5-9 mm thick and dark in colour when ripe. The seeds themselves are small at little more than a millimetre in length and slightly oval in shape. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Oenothera</i> Genus of plants

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Onagraceae</span> Family of flowering plants comprising willowherbs and evening primroses

The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees in 17 genera. The family is widespread, occurring on every continent from boreal to tropical regions.

<i>Oenothera biennis</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Fuchsia magellanica</i> Species of flowering plant

Fuchsia magellanica, commonly known as the hummingbird fuchsia or hardy fuchsia, is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family Onagraceae, native to the lower Southern Cone of southern South America.

<i>Oenothera lindheimeri</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenothera lindheimeri, commonly known as Lindheimer's beeblossom, white gaura, pink gaura, Lindheimer's clockweed, and Indian feather, is a species of Oenothera. Several of its common names derive from the genus Gaura, in which this species was formerly placed.

<i>Stachys byzantina</i> Species of flowering plant

Stachys byzantina, the lamb's-ear or woolly hedgenettle, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to Armenia, Iran, and Turkey. It is cultivated over much of the temperate world as an ornamental plant, and is naturalised in some locations as an escapee from gardens. Plants are very often found under the synonym Stachys lanata or Stachys olympica.

<i>Saxifraga stolonifera</i> Species of flowering plant

Saxifraga stolonifera is a perennial flowering plant known by several common names, including creeping saxifrage, strawberry saxifrage, creeping rockfoil, Aaron's beard, mother of thousands, roving sailor, and strawberry begonia or strawberry geranium.

<i>Oenothera fruticosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenothera fruticosa, the narrowleaf evening primrose or narrow-leaved sundrops, is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family.

<i>Oenothera elata</i> Species of flowering plant

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 woodland, from sea level up to 9,000 ft (2,700 m) in elevation.

<i>Erysimum cheiri</i> Species of flowering plant

Erysimum cheiri, syn. Cheiranthus cheiri, the wallflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae (Cruciferae), native to Greece, but widespread as an introduced species elsewhere. It is also treated as a hybrid under the name Erysimum × cheiri. It is widely cultivated as a garden plant.

<i>Oxalis triangularis</i> Species of flowering plant

Oxalis triangularis, commonly called false shamrock, is a species of perennial plant in the family Oxalidaceae. It is native to several countries in southern South America. This woodsorrel is typically grown as a houseplant but can be grown outside in USDA climate zones 8a–11, preferably in light shade.

<i>Camissoniopsis micrantha</i> Species of flowering plant

Camissoniopsis micrantha is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names miniature suncup or small evening primrose. This is a small, hairy annual herb producing a basal rosette of leaves. It is characterized by small yellow flowers with petals less than 5 millimeters long. The flowers dry to a reddish color as they close. This species is found in Arizona and California in the United States, along with Baja California in Mexico. It grows in sandy areas in a number of habitats, from beaches to inland slopes. It is the smallest member of the genus Camissoniopsis.

<i>Camissoniopsis bistorta</i> Species of flowering plant

Camissoniopsis bistorta is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names southern suncup and California suncup. It is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in several types of plant community along the coast and in the coastal hills and mountain ranges. This is a hairy annual or short-lived perennial herb spreading from a basal rosette, with stems reaching up to 80 centimeters long. The leaves are narrow and sometimes toothed, and 1 to 12 centimeters in length. Toward the end of the spreading stems are nodding inflorescences of flowers, each flower with four bright yellow petals dotted with red at their bases.

Clarkia australis is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common name Small's southern clarkia. It is endemic to California, where it grows in the forests of the central Sierra Nevada. It is an uncommon species threatened by such forest activities as logging. This annual herb produces a slender, erect stem approaching a meter in height. The leaves are widely linear in shape and borne on short petioles. The top of the stem is occupied by the tall inflorescence, which bears hanging buds that open from the lowest upward so that there are several closed buds above open flowers. The sepals do not remain fused as the flower opens. The petals are diamond-shaped and sometimes lobed and curling at the tip. They are mottled or spotted lavender, purple, and reddish in color, and each is up to 1.5 centimeters long. There are 8 long stamens tipped with large anthers bearing blue-gray pollen. The stigma protrudes past the anthers.

<i>Oenothera perennis</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenothera perennis is a species of flowering plant in the family Onagraceae and is native to the eastern United States and Canada. Its common names include little evening primrose, small sundrops, and small evening primrose. Its native habitats include shaly slopes, moist or dry fields, pastures and roadsides. Oenothera perennis is a perennial herb. It has yellow flowers that open during the day and close at night. Each flower has four petals that are notched at the tip with veins radiating from the base.

<i>Oenothera macrocarpa</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Oenothera harringtonii</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Hypericum lancasteri</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum lancasteri, known as Lancaster's St. John's wort or as zhan e jin si tao in Chinese, is a species of flowering plant in the St. John's wort family Hypericaceae. The species has been awarded the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

<i>Oenothera tetraptera</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenothera tetraptera, known as fourwing evening primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae) native to the Americas. It has widely naturalized in other areas, including southern Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

<i>Oenothera suffulta</i> Species of plant

Oenothera suffulta, known as roadside gaura, honeysuckle gaura, or kisses, is a flowering plant in the primrose family, Onagraceae. It is endemic to the United States, in Texas and southern Oklahoma.

References

  1. "Oenothera versicolor". Tropicos . Missouri Botanical Gardens . Retrieved 9 April 2021 via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  2. "Oenothera versicolor Lehm. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online.
  3. 1 2 "Oenothera versicolor 'Sunset Boulevard' | sundrops 'Sunset Boulevard'/RHS Gardening". www.rhs.org.uk.
  4. Dietrich, Werner. “The South American Species of Oenothera Sect. Oenothera (Raimannia, Renneria; Onagraceae).” Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, vol. 64, no. 3, 1977, pp. 455. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2395257. Accessed 9 Apr. 2021.