Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness

Presented in Association with the
Western New Mexico University Department of Natural Sciences

Oenothera elata Kunth subsp. hirsutissima (A. Gray ex S. Watson) Dietrich
(Hooker's Evening Primrose)


Family: Onagraceae

Status: Native

Synonyms:
Onagra guttata ined.
Oenothera hirsutissima (Gray) Rydberg
Oenothera hookeri Torrey & Gray subsp. angustifolia (Gates) Munz
Oenothera hookeri Torrey & Gray var. angustifolia Gates
Oenothera hookeri Torrey & Gray subsp. hewittii Cockerell
Oenothera hookeri Torrey & Gray subsp. hirsutissima (Gray) Munz
Oenothera irrigua Wooton & Standley

Oenothera elata is our most common upper elevation Evening Primrose, just as Oenothera caespitosa is our most common lower elevation one. Oenothera elata is usually single stemmed and stands strongly erect. The petals are yellow turning orange with age. The stem is reddish. The leaves are lanceolate and sessile. Oenothera elata is commonly seen at the roadside at upper elevations. The seeds are irregularly shaped and stacked in the capsules. The capsules when mature are woody, brown and have four chambers each with two rows of small angled seeds.
Please click on an image for a larger file.



Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Signal Peak turnoff, July 11, 2007



Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima, detail of flower, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, Signal Peak turnoff, July 11, 2007



Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima, detail of flower, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, NM 15 at Cherry Creek Campground, Oct. 1, 2008



Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima, capsules, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, NM 15 at Cherry Creek Campground, Oct. 1, 2008



Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima, seeds in capsule, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, NM 15 at Cherry Creek Campground, Jan. 9, 2009



Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima, 2x macro of seeds, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, NM 15 at Cherry Creek Campground, Jan. 9, 2009



Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima, stem before sectioning showing inferior ovary, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, NM 15 at Cherry Creek Campground, August 23. 2011



Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima, stem after sectioning to show inferior ovary, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, NM 15 at Cherry Creek Campground, August 23. 2011



Oenothera elata subsp. hirsutissima, bisected ovary, photo Russ Kleinman, Pinos Altos Range, NM 15 at Cherry Creek Campground, August 23. 2011



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