Evening Primerose
by Michelle Meenawong
Title
Evening Primerose
Artist
Michelle Meenawong
Medium
Photograph - Metal Print
Description
Oenothera is a genus of about 145 species of herbaceous flowering plants native to the Americas. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. Common names include evening primrose, suncups, and sundrops.
The species vary in size from small alpine plants 10 centimeters tall, such as O. Acaulis from Chile, to vigorous lowland species growing to 3 meters, such as O. Stubbei from Mexico. The leaves form a basal rosette at ground level and spiral up to the flowering stems. The blades are dentate or deeply lobed (pinnatifid). The flowers of many species open in the evening, hence the name "evening primrose". They may open in under a minute. Most species have yellow flowers, but some have white, purple, pink, or red. Most native desert species are white. Oenothera caespitosa, a species of western North America, produces white flowers that turn pink with age. One of the most distinctive features of the flower is the stigma, which has four branches in an X shape.
Oenothera flowers are pollinated by insects, such as moths and bees. Like many other members of the Onagraceae, however, the pollengrains are loosely held together by viscin threads, so only insects that are morphologically specialized to gather this pollen can effectively pollinate the flowers. Bees with typical scopa cannot hold it. Also, the flowers open at a time when most bee species are inactive, so the bees which visit Oenothera are generally vespertine temporal specialists: bees that forage in the evening. The seeds ripen from late summer to fall.
Oenothera are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the large white-lined sphinx. The flower moths Schinia felicitata and S. Florida both feed exclusively on the genus, and the former is limited to O. deltoides.
In the wild, evening primroses act as primary colonizers, quickly appearing in recently cleared areas. They germinate in disturbed soils, and can be found in habitat types such as dunes, roadsides, railway embankments, and waste areas. They are often casual and are eventually out competed by other species
A very grateful thank you to the following groups for featuring this picture
Art For Close Ups And Macro Happy And Friendly
07/13/2018
Global Flowers Photography
07/28/2018
Uploaded
June 17th, 2018
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