Plant Image
Flower
Willow Dells Tr - Sue Smith


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Oenothera caespitosa - tufted evening primrose

Synonyms: Pachylophus caespitosa
Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Onagraceae


   
 
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Flowers
Iron Springs Rd
Sue Smith
Flower
Willow Dells Tr
Sue Smith
Buds
Willow Dells Tr
Sue Smith
Leaves
Iron Springs Rd
Sue Smith
Leaves
Granite Mtn - Tr 308
Sue Smith
Plant - summer
Iron Springs Rd
Sue Smith
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Perennial
General Desc: Tufted leaves emerge from the base. Like other evening primroses, this fragrant flower opens in late afternoon, blooms through the night and closes by the next morning, withering to pink. Pollinated by hawk moths. It is evergreen in many habitats.
Identification notes: Woody base, no stems or very short ones; leaves basal; blades long, narrow, lance-shaped, margins strongly wavy to lobed, 1 to 4 inches long. Sepals 1 to 1-1/2 inches long. Large white petals, aging to pink to reddish-purple. Seeds not sharply angled.
Height: 2 to 8 inches


Habitat

Habitat Description: Desert scrub, grasslands, interior chaparral and oak/pinon/juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine; on rocky slopes; especially open sites.
Plant Communities: Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 3000 - 7500 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: White, pinkish with age     Shape: Regular not in clusters     Tubular: Y     Flowering Period: Apr - Sep
Description: Large 4 inch flowers have 4 white, heart-shaped petals that turn pinkish-white with age; the 4 sepals are pink, thin, pointed and curve downward. Sepals, petals and stamens form a cup-shaped tube.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Grayish-green     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Narrow     Leaf Margin: Lobed     Leaf Attachment: Basal     Leaves Clasp: N
Hairs: No     Spines: N
Leaf Description: Lance-shaped to narrowly elliptical basal leaves, 1 to 4 inches long, have irregular wavy margin or are lobed.


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Color: Brown   
Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Cylindrical brown capsule, turning woody, 1 to 1-1/2 inches long, is hairy, knobby and angled. Capsules mostly erect and forming clumps at the base of the plant, cylindric to ovoid.
Seed Notes: Seeds dark brown, about 1/8 inch long.



  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailForb.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
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