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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE EVENING-PRIMROSE FAMILY | |||||||||
| These plants are perennial herbs or shrubs common to temperate and subtropical regions. Stems may be present or absent and when absent, all of the leaves are basal. Stem leaves are either alternate or opposite. Flowers can be solitary or in branched or unbranched clusters. The flowers have four sepals and petals and four or eight stamens. The ovary is inferior and is surrounded by a hypanthium. The hypanthium is the result of the fusion of part of the sepals, petals, and stamens. | |||||||||
| YELLOW EVENING PRIMROSE | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Oenothera flava ssp. flava | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Yellow evening primrose does not have a stem. The leaves grow in a basal rosette from the thick, fleshy taproot. The leaves are deeply lobed with the lobes pointing downwards. The midrib is very noticeable on the underside of the leaf. The flowers are stalkless in the leaf axils. The flowers are generally less than 2 cm long and are yellow to pinkish in colour. The fruit is a 4-winged capsule that releases dark reddish-brown to black seeds. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Yellow evening primrose grows in moist depressions, slough bottoms, creek shores, and roadside ditches. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This species is found in southern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland, Mixed Grassland, and Moist Mixed Grassland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Yellow evening primrose is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is limited to the southern portion of the province and most local populations are small. At the present time, this species appears to be secure and no immediate threats are known. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY YELLOW EVENING PRIMROSE | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves all in a basal rosette? * Are the flowers without stalks in the leaf axils? * Are the petals yellow? * Did you find it in southern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found yellow evening primrose! | |||||||||
