Rough and Tumble Oenothera biennis

Night blooming Common Evening Primrose is our rough and tumble 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 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.

 

 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.

 

  This plant can get tall, plant it where it won't block other pretties, but, where you can still enjoy the flower show and catch its lovely lemony scent.

 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. I saw bats flying around the flowers and deduced they were there for the moths and other night visitors.

 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)

 

I 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

PS If you're new to Clay and Limestone, rough and tumble wildflowers are simple wildflowers that bloom their hearts out and require the easiest of care. Many have never been hybridized, which means they haven't had their best characteristic bred out of them. Rough and tumble wildflowers are doing the job nature intended them to do, which is to make a lot of food (nectar and/or pollen) and bloom exactly when the critters need it-just in time for provisioning a nest for the winter or for migrating birds. Once bloom is past and the seeds ripen, they become feeding stations for over wintering birds which seek out those seeds.

 

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.

Wildflower Wednesday: Verbesina virginica

It's rough and tumble wildflower time in my garden.

The take care of themselves Autumn beauties are beginning to bloom and our wildflower star, Verbesina virginica is looking its wildflower best, dressed in white flowers and wearing nature's late summer visiting jewels.

If you're new to Clay and Limestone, rough and tumble wildflowers are simple wildflowers that bloom their hearts out and require the easiest of care. Many have never been hybridized, which means they haven't had their best characteristic bred out of them.

Rough and tumble wildflowers, like Frostweed, are doing the job nature intended them to do, which is to make a lot of food (nectar and/or pollen) and bloom exactly when the critters need it. Once bloom is past and the seeds ripen, they become feeding stations for over wintering birds which seek out those seeds.

I know you'll agree with me when I say, nature's design is amazing.

landing pads of deliciousness

Verbesina virginica is a native herbaceous biennial/perennial in the Asteraceae/Sunflower family. It has clusters of white ray florets and white disk florets with noticeably contrasting purplish-black anthers.

Its leaves are dark green with rough surfaces and toothed margins and are oppositely arranged.

Its stem is distinctive in that it has wing-like flanges running along its length. If you live in its native range, you've probably seen it along roadways or in natural areas and parks. It can be found on streams and river banks, bluff bases, bottomland and upland forests, pastures, railroads, roadsides, prairies, and in forest openings. It is most common in areas with neutral or basic soils (Soil which is in the range from slightly acid to slightly alkaline, usually considered to be in the range of pH values from 6.6 to 7.3).

 seed feeding station of Frostweed, Rudbeckias, Cup plant and yet to bloom ex-asters and Goldenrods

 That means it's very happy, maybe, even too happy in my garden.

Verbesina virginica is a blooming magnet for all kinds of insects, including some insects that are themselves food for spiders, birds and other insect eating critters.

Bumble Bees love it. Green Metallic bees love it. Giant Carpenter Bees love it. Butterflies love it. In fact, it's an essential late summer/early fall nectar food for all visiting pollinators and it's an especially important food for the Monarch Butterfly. It's has been selected for monitoring by Monarch Watch an organization devoted to education, conservation and research about/for the Monarch Butterfly.

We all know that adult butterflies depend upon their host plant to raise their larval young.   Caterpillars won’t just eat any leaf and each butterfly species has specific plants that their caterpillars will eat. During migration blooming nectar plants are even more valuable to Monarch butterflies than their non-blooming host plants. Frostweed and other rough and tumble plants provide the nectar they need for energy to fly thousands of miles.

Flattened fruits have winged margins and two awns

Verbesina virginica also provides ripe seeds for over wintering birds that live in and stop by our gardens. So don't be so eager to chop them down in November. Let them stand until late winter or early spring.

Photo courtesy of Meredith O'Reilly

Verbesina virginica has many common names, three of which, Frostweed, Iceplant, Iceweed hint at something wintry about our star.

Aren't these ice candy ribbons incredible! They're provided by Frostweed.

Imagine a beautiful late fall day. It's warm, the sun is shining and Verbesina's roots draw water up into the stem. Late that night, temperatures drop well below freezing and the stems freeze, splitting open, emitting the plant juices, which immediately freeze into ribbons of ice that curl around the stem and the base of the plant!

Frostweed flowers will continue to form as long as the temperatures are cold, the plant juices are flowing and the sun cannot melt them away. The scientific term is capillary action, but, I think it's magic.

The Particulars

Family: Asteraceae

Common names: White crownbeard, Frostweed, Iceplant, Iceweed, Virginia Crownbeard, Indian Tobacco, Richweed, Squawweed

Native Range: Pennsylvania west to central Texas, south to Florida

Habitat: White Crownbeard occurs in prairies, in pastures, in forest openings, along streams, and on roadsides. It is most common in areas with neutral or basic soils.

Size: The stems are 3-8 feet in height and unbranched below the inflorescence. They have winged internodes, and are pubescent. The wings that make them easily identifiable

Bloom: Flowers are produced in heads. The heads are arranged in corymbs. Each head has 1-7 white ray flowers and 8-15 off-white disc flowers.

Bloom time: August–October.

Sun: Full sun, half sun, and, even fairly shady sites.

Water: Moist to dry

Maintenance: Weeding and editing, plants can become weedy, spreading by seed and from rhizomes.

Propagation: The fruit is a winged achene with two small bristles at its apex. Best planted from seed or if in a natural area allowed to self sow. Seed dispersal is by wind, animal or flowing water

Wildlife Value: Over wintering birds eat the seeds. Bumble Bees love it. Green Metallic bees love it. Giant Carpenter Bees love it. Butterflies love it. In fact, it's an essential late summer/early fall nectar food for all visiting pollinators and it's an especially important food for  the Monarch Butterfly.

Comments: Best in natural garden, along pond edge or if well managed in the background of a butterfly garden. This plant is called "frostweed" because it often forms spectacular "frost flowers" in the fall, when a sudden overnight freeze causes the stems to burst and release sap.

I adore this plant, but, I also weed it ruthlessly if it's crowding other more delicate plants. I can't imagine Clay and Limestone without Frostweed and the other rough and tumble beauties. Let me know if you want seeds, I'll have extras for sure.

xoxogail

Thank you for stopping by and welcome to Clay and Limestone's Wildflower Wednesday celebration. WW is about sharing and celebrating wildflowers from all over this great big, beautiful world. Join us on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Remember, it doesn't matter if your wildflower is in bloom or not; and, it doesn't matter if we all share the same plants. It's all about celebrating wildflowers. Please leave a comment when you add your url to Mr Linky.



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.