The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-09-30
The iehta alu Exqle saturday ornne September 80 8a3
THE EVENING PRIMROSE.
Wayside Night Boomer, Fragrant and
DelicatelY Graceful.

Delicatcly Graceful.
From its peculiar habit of blooming
at night, the delicate beauty and cit
rus-like fragrance of one Of our COM
monest, purely native flowers is often
overlooked even by many of those who
notice and follow the floral treasures
which, from early spring to late au-
tumn, deck our waysides, pastures and
meadows. The evening primrose for
purposes of self-preservation, that is,
to avoid depredations by the horde Of
day insects, and invite visits from
friends, chooses to expand its blossoms
almost entirely under the cover of dark
ness AS they are quite delicate and
perishable, they generally wilt and
droop upon the stems under the gaze OF
the sun, SO that when we see the plant
in the morning it has but little to at
tract, we think. 1t is, however, very
charming and interesting member OF
the floral circle, furnishing in its pecu-
liar methods an evidence Of the select
i've intelligence of plants; artistically
suggestive in the forms and arrange
ment of its foliage, and as distinctly
lovely in the color and shape of its
blossom as it is in the elegance of its
high-bred aroma.
Its shrine should be sought in the
evening, at which time, attracted and
guided by the pale color and faint, dis
tinct odor, it is visited by a little night
moth, nicely adapted to its structure.
through whose services its flowers are
suitably fertilized, and the vigor and
purity of its strain is maintained. At
this time the soft, custard-yellow petals
will be found wide open and almost
cleaning in the twilight, while the
air is delicately scented with a lovely
fragrance. The plant, though perhaps
SO frowsy and uninviting by day, is
now found to have put on strange
beauty and attractiveness. On moon
light nights it is at its best and shines.
like true votary of Cynthia, in
weird sort of loneliness, attaching to
no other common flower.
The evening primroses, of which
there are many varieties besides bien-
mis-, hailing mostly from the south and
west, are all Americans, and belong to
a genus distinctly and purely Ameri-
can. The clarkia, a related plant from
Oregon, was first brought East by the
famous Lewis and Clark exploring ex-
petition across the Rockies; the fuchsia,
another, is a native of the Andes; the
eucharidimus,' resembling the clarkias,
are from California, while the epilobi-
ums-6reweeds, willow-herbs-are ia
miliar to us in all our waste lands,
where they flame through the summer
months like forest fires.
Examined by daylight, at this time
of year, the evening primrose is found
possessed of stout stem-sometimes
an inch through-often branching into
half a dozen or more strong arms. The
color of the stalks or limbs runs from
olive green to strong brick-red. They
are heavily feathered with alternate
lance-shaped leaves, the top ones a
dusty green, but nearer the base of the
plant exhibiting quite a change of
colors-olive, crimson, saffron and in
termediate shades The stalks are
tipped with seed-pods, which some
times form great oblong punches, re-
sembling the pompons worn in the
shakos of the military. Late in the
season, when the cooler air of autumn
or late summer has somewhat thinned
out the day insects, or, perhaps, be-
cause the plant has already accom-
plished its necessary work of seed
production, the blossoms seem to re-
main open considerably longer by day.
The fading flowers assume lovely shade
of pomegranate as they droop, which
adds something to the color value Of
this wayside bloomer. Trans
cript