EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY. Onagraceae. 



There are several kinds of Sphaerostigma ; leaves alter- 

 nate; flowers yellow, white or pink, turning green or 

 reddish; stamens eight, with oblong, swinging anthers; 

 style threadlike, with a round- top stigma; capsule four- 

 celled, usually long and narrow, four-angled, often twisted, 

 with no stalk. 



A common kind, very variable in its 

 Evening Primrose manner of g row th, being tall and erect in 

 Sphaerostigma 



bistdrta moist, shady places and spreading flat on 



(Oenothera) the ground in dry, sunny spots. The 



Yellow leaves are dull green, more or less downy 



? p f!? g . and more or less toothed, and the flowers 



California . 



are three-quarters of an inch across, clear 



yellow, usually with a speck, or blotch, of reddish-brown 

 at the base of each petal; the stamens and pistil also 

 yellow; the pods reddish and very much twisted. Gravelly 



washes are often thickly sprinkled with 

 Sphaerosttgma . J 



Veitchianum these gay ana charming flowers. 

 (Oenothera) Much like the last, but the flowers are 



Yellow only a little over a quarter of an inch 



~ p y!? g . across. The pods are dark red and shiny, 



California \ 



with a few hairs. 



A beautiful seashore plant, forming 

 Beach Primrose j j clumps of reclining stems and 



Sphaerostigma 



viridescens P ale ra y downy foliage, the twigs 



(Oenothera and younger leaves silvery-white. The 



cheiranthijolia var. flowers are about an inch and a quarter 



Yeliow^ a) aCr SS ' dear y ellow ' often with two ' dark 



All seasons red ^ots at tne ^ ase ^ eac ^ P eta l I tne 



California stamens and pistil also yellow of the same 



shade; the pods pinkish, downy, and much 

 twisted. The flat masses of pale foliage, strewn with 

 golden disks, are exceedingly effective, growing in drifting 

 sand hills along the coast, from San Francisco south. 



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