1,000 Seeds, Primrose "Showy Evening" (Oenothera speciosa) Seeds By Seed Needs
Showy evening primrose is adventive from the west, and is usually 1-2 feet tall. The pubescent stems are erect or have a tendency to sprawl. The central stem is usually little branched, except near the apex of the plant where the flowers occur. The alternate leaves are up to 2 - 3" long and 3/4" across. Sometimes there are small lobes near the base of a leaf. There are usually 1 - 3 flowers which develop from the upper axils of the leaves. The flower buds are rather long and spindle-shaped. The showy flowers open up during the daytime, and are 2 - 3 1/2" in diameter. Each flower has 4 broad petals, 8 white stamens with white or yellow anthers, and a long white stigma that is 4-cleft at its tip, resembling a white cross. These flowers are usually pinkish white, with fine pink lines that radiate outward from the throat across the rather wrinkled petals. The throat of these flowers is often yellow. The blooming period occurs from late spring to mid-summer, and lasts about a month, although individual flowers are rather short-lived. These flowers are replaced by long 4-angled capsules, which contain numerous wild flower seeds. The root system is highly rhizomatous, can form sizable colonies at some sites.