Wildflower Wednesday: Oenothera biennis

Night blooming Common Evening Primrose is our Wildflower Wednesday star. This tall biennial is  found growing in fields, prairies, glades, thickets, waste ground, disturbed sites, and in other sunny medium to dry sites. While native to almost all the states it's found more often in the central and eastern US.

While researching the plant I noticed that it showed up on several state weed sites!  That's always disconcerting to a wildflower/native plant enthusiast, but, not all wildflowers are appreciated or valued by everyone.  Some might be put off by it's height or it's unremarkable foliage, neither bother me.  I find the yellow flowers that are still blooming when I walk the garden early in the morning to be quite charming.  I like catching their sweet lemony scent and watching the occasional bee or other pollinator visitor that's out that early.

The sweet lemon scent is designed to attract moths

At the top of the over six foot tall, hairy, olive green leafy stalk are the lemon-scented, bright-yellow, four-petaled flowers. Flowering begins in June on second year plants; the stalks continue growing throughout the season, so there are flowers until fall.

This plant can get tall, so plant it where it won't block other pretties, but, you can still enjoy the flower show. In my garden it's happily growing with Rudbeckia triloba, Silphium perfoliatum, Verbesena virginica and Asclepias syriaca. Use native grasses, Verbesinas, and/or Coreopsis to disguise the lower bare stalks.

Each flower has 4 petals, 4 reflexed sepals, 8 stamens and a prominent style with a cross-shaped stigma.

 Oenothera biennis takes 2 years to complete its life cycle, with basal leaves becoming established the first year, and flowering occurring the second. It's not difficult to have flowers every year, just save the seeds and keep planting them. You shouldn't have trouble collecting seed since each seed capsule makes at least a 100 tiny seeds.  Don't get too alarmed about all the seeds...they're an important goldfinch food.

Flowers open at dusk and generally wilt the following morning.

Wildlife value

Common evening primrose is open for the night shift. That's when the pollinating creatures of the night are out and about. Sphinx moths and other moths pollinate the flowers.

 Other visitors have included: Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, honeybees, bumblebees, and the Primrose Miner Bee. These insects seek nectar, although some of the bees collect pollen. The caterpillars of several moths feed on the foliage. This includes Endryas unio (Pearly Wood Nymph), Desmia funeralis (Grape Leaffolder Moth), Hyles lineata (White-Lined Sphinx), and Mompha eloisella (Momphid Moth; bores through stems). Various beetles feed on the foliage, including Popillia japonica (Japanese Beetle), Grahops pubescens (Leaf Beetle sp.), Altica fusconenea (Flea Beetle sp.), and several Curculio beetles. The seeds are eaten by goldfinches. (Illinois Wildflowers)

 Nancy Lawson, who blogs at The Humane Gardener says, "If I had the opportunity to rename the common evening primrose in a way that better reflects its value to the modern world, I would call it Moth Life Giver, Bee Brunch or maybe Goldfinch Candy, indicating the rich buffet every part of this plant provides to our wildlife."* I loved her description and if you follow the link I think you'll like what else she has to say!

The particulars:
Oenothera biennis
Common Name: common evening primrose
Type: Biennial herb. Taproot
Family: Onagraceae

source

Native Range: Evening Primrose can be found throughout most of the United States (some Rocky Mountain states are an exception) and Canada
Zone: 4 to 9
Height: 3.00 to 7.00 feet
Spread: 2.00 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to September
Bloom Description: Yellow
Flower: Showy 
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Propagation Description: Sow unstratified seed in fall – stratified in spring. Tip cuttings can be taken in spring.
Seed Collection: Collect in Aug. to Nov. It is common to find 100 capsules on a plant and over 100 seeds in each capsule. Seeds can remain viable for more than 80 years if buried in soil.
Seed Treatment: Plant on top of soil, seeds need light to germinate.
Commercially Available: Seed isavailable
Wildlife value: Birds, Butterflies, moths, bees.
Tolerate: Drought
Comments: Young leaves, flowers, shoots and first year roots are edible. Research preparation before trying. The leaves and roots are thought to have a peppery taste. It's also cultivated for its oil, which contains some essential fatty acids (Omega-6 fatty acid, linolenic acid and gamma-linolenic acid). Source

I've come to appreciate scrappy native plants like Oenothera biennis that are often the first to show up in disturbed areas. They're automatically members of the rough and tumble wildflower club at Clay and Limestone. I wish that all the disturbed areas around the country could be repopulated with natives, but, too often the non native invasives arrive first. Count yourself lucky if the good guys show up!

xoxogail

Welcome to Clay and Limestone and Wildflower Wednesday.  This day is about sharing wildflowers and other native plants no matter where one gardens~the UK, tropical Florida, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, India or the coldest reaches of Canada. It doesn't matter if we sometimes share the same plants. How they grow and thrive in your garden is what matters most.

Mr Linky stopped linking when I moved my blog to the secure https setting. please leave your link in the comments. Thanks and so sorry.



Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.

Dressed For Success~Moth Style

Sometimes, you have to get very close to see what a flower has to show you~
If you're very quick or being particularly observant, you might see a little creature who has taken up residence. Like the tiny crab spider who waits patiently for dinner. Or, perhaps you'll notice a flower that looks quite disheveled
and when looking closer you discover a well camouflaged caterpillar.

The macro shot shows so much clearer the clever disguise that this caterpillar of the Emerald Wavy Lined moth (Synchlora aerata) uses for protective coloration. Caterpillars are especially at risk because they can't fly away when danger approaches. Camouflage is an effective means to blend into their environment and escape being eaten by a bird or wasp.

The Emerald Wavy cleverly disguises its body with pieces of a composite flower like rudbeckia. It's able to add bits and pieces of petals to its spiny back with silk and seems to instinctively know when it's time to freshen the dress!


The Emerald Wavy Lined moth is quite common, but folks rarely notice these loper or inchworm caterpillars because their camouflage is so successful. They hide beautifully on the cone and gardener and bird don't seem to notice. I might have missed this wonderful opportunity to have a close encounter with this clever creature had I not been looking for a stand of fresh flowers to photograph. It was a hot, still day and the 'petal' of a tattered Susan was moving about. Looking closer I saw what looked like a mutated petal attached to the cone of a Susan and met my new garden friend.

There are plenty of Susans at Clay and Limestone, so I don't mind sharing a few with the Emerald Wavy. Before long it will attach itself to the stem or underside of the leaf and weave silk and petal parts creating a perfectly camouflaged cocoon. A short time later a small emerald moth will emerge....

Isn't nature grand~

Gail

If you want to see other creatures who share the garden with me go here~Southern Crimson Moth: Return Of The Stealth Chompers; Taking care Of Bzzness (native bees); The Boys Of Late Summer and This Post Is rated BG (both Black Swallowtail caterpillar)

Nectaring At the Monarda, A video

Monarda didyma has been a real joy in the garden. My friend Sarah stopped by today and commented that the garden was alive. She was staring right at the very busy party going on at Marshall's Delight.... a new monarda that was added to my garden this year.

Along with all the bees, moths and a few butterfly, was an odd looking bee. Quite large with bumble bee stripes and big wings. He darted, dipped and hovered about. Which is not at all bee like...more hummingbird, but this was not a hummer. I wanted it to be a hummer, but wishes don't make it a hummer! (Frances, we wait for the Holy Grail Photo opportunity)

Sarah said it had clear wings, and that, it turns out is the key to it's identity; along with his especially large bee looking body, his darting and hovering and the give away antenna!

We have a Snowberry Clearwing Moth nectaring at the monarda. I tried, really tried to get his photo...they move very fast and my camera is unable to capture him in a still photo. But I was able to shoot a short video clip!





Really neat moth, isn't it!

His official name is Hemaris diffinis. Mr. I Don't Blog or Garden thought it was a hummer. No reflection on him; all that hovering and darting about could lead one to believe it's a hummingbird. There is a Hemaris that is often confused with a hummingbird and he's called Hummingbird Clearwing Moth! No bee stripes. He's a hummingbird mimic, not a bee mimic.

The Clearwing is also known as a sphinx moth or hawk moth, but unlike other moths in that family he is diurnal or a day feeder. He nectars on monarda, native honeysuckle and snowberry bush. He is an important pollinator and is attracted to flowers with these traits: flowers are open at night, white or pale coloration, sweet fragrance, horizontal to pendant posture, abundant sucrose-rich nectar, and a long nectar tube. Phlox fits in there!

They pupate underground....in an dark tube like capsule. Here are photos of a moth emerging from a capsule that I shot this spring in my garden. I don't know which moth, but it is an interesting photo and will give you an idea of the work a moth does to break out!






You've probably found pupa in the soil while planting in your garden. It's exciting to know exactly what they are and that a sphinx or hawk moth will be visiting our flowers.

Gail


on the one ton temple bell
a moon-moth, folded into sleep,
sits still.

~Hakui by Taniguchi Buson