Evening Primrose

The species vary in size from small alpine plants 10 cm tall (e.g. O. acaulis from Chile), to vigorous lowland species growing to 3 m (e.g. O. stubbei from Mexico). The leaves form a basal rosette at ground level and spiral up to the flowering stems; the leaves are dentate or deeply lobed (pinnatifid). The flowers open in the evening, hence the name "evening-primrose", and are yellow in most species but white, purple, pink or red in a few. Most native desert species are white. The fragrant tufted evening-primrose Oenothera caespitosa, a Southwestern species, first blooms white but turns pink or light magenta.