EVENING PRIMROSE 



Oenothera biennis L. 



Summer Softly in tlio twili^-ht tlio four silkon pct<als of tlio 



Roadsides, fields cvcuinji- primrose moved a]i;irt from the tapered 



formation of the hud and with a silken sound tliev 

 hiv open to the moths of (hisk. All day the loiifj-tuhcd yellow IkuIs were 

 tiglitly shut, but towards late afternoon tliere was a visible swelling, 

 a pufline.ss. As sunset eame and a softer liirht sjjread over the roadsides, 

 the buds «|uivered, the ealyx skin jiartcd soundlessly, and in a minute or 

 two the llowcr had o|iriii'(l. In ((nniinial ivcly \v\\ llowri's can the actual 

 l)artin,u- of the hud and the opening- of the jictals ht> ohseiTed. In the 

 ]irimrose it is rapid, it is im|)ressive. 



The ])laut of the evening primrose i> dnwnv and grey-green, a slout- 

 ish stem giowing frt)ni strong lleshy roots. It is a i)iennial plant — it 

 grows from seed the first year, blotnns the .second year, then dies wlien 

 frosts eom(\ '^Phe leaves are grey-green, soft, widely toothed, attached 

 alternately to the stalk. From axils of the leaves spring the l)uds. which 

 also are. den.sely clustered at the top of the stalk. 'I'hey are of many 

 sizes, so that their lilooming covers a long pericnl in sunnner. Each day 

 two or three flowers bloom, last until the hot sun hits them next morn- 

 ing, and hang droojx'd and finished. By evening morc^ buds have grown 

 large enough to bloom. 'I'hey are fertilized by night-flying moths which 

 are attracted to the paleness of the light yellow flowers as they gleam in 

 the dusk. The tlowi>r is at the end of a long tub(> above the ovary where 

 seeds form, is four-jiarted, has eight, powdery white stamens and a pistil 

 with four spreading divisions. It is found commonly along country roads 

 and in waste ])laces. blooms from June to October, and is widely scattered 

 throughout the count rvside. 



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