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Onagraceae
Hooker's Evening Primrose
Oenothera elata
Evening beauty and fleeting moments.
- Family
- Onagraceae
- Genus
- Oenothera
- Native to
- western North America, Central America
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- biennial or short-lived perennial
- Height
- 60–200 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- well-drained, sandy or loamy
- Water
- low to moderate
- Hardiness
- 4–9
- Lifespan
- biennial
Did you know
- The flowers open at dusk and close by mid-morning, earning the common name 'evening primrose'.
- Named for botanist Sir William Jackson Hooker, a director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Hawk moths are primary pollinators, navigating to the pale flowers by their sweet nocturnal fragrance.
- The entire plant is edible: roots can be cooked like parsnips, young leaves eaten as salad greens.
- Evening primrose oil, rich in gamma-linolenic acid, is extracted from the seeds of related species.
Color meanings
Yellow
fleeting joy and moonlit beauty