Discussion

Evening Primrose

The flowering plant name, primrose, can cause confusion because the name is shared by plants from different botanical families. What most people think of when thinking of primroses are plants in the Primulaceae family.

Note the number of petals on the blossoms. That is NOT this week's painting subject. My painting subject this week, the evening primrose, is a member of the Onagraceae family.

ts slightly cup-shaped blossoms (when fully open) always have four, bilobed petals. The common evening-primrose (Oenothera biennis) has yellow blossoms as do most other evening primrose flowers. Other names for the common evening primrose are evening star, sundrop, weedy evening primrose, German rampion, hog weed, King's cure-all, and fever-plant.

The Oenothera genera, native to the Americas but since spread around the world, has about 145 recognized species, so it is not surprising that some have different colors.

This close-up of another evening primrose species, Oenothera glazioviana (large-flowered evening primrose), illustrates features common to all evening primrose blossoms. Each has 4 petals, 4 female pistils (on the long stalk or style), and 8 shorter male stamen.

his side view provides a good look at the 4 calyx sepals of Oenothera glazioviana.

ypically, evening primrose blossoms last only a single day. They open in the early evening (that is where the name comes from), last overnight, and wilt in the morning. They are usually closed and gone by noon. Pollinators have that limited amount of time in which to do their thing. The pollinator in the photo below is a sphinx moth, one of the species of moth whose larvae are hosted by evening primrose blossoms.

This photo also provides another good view of the tall, central pistils and shorter stamens.

While individual evening primrose blossoms last only one night, the plant as a whole continues putting forth blossoms for many months; June through November is the norm for common evening primroses. Other species usually have slightly shorter blooming seasons.

Most evening primrose species last for two years before dying. The first year is mostly spent spreading out in a leafy rosette to cover the ground.

This is also when energy is stored in tuber-like roots.

t is in the second year of life that the blossoms appear. This photo is interesting in that you can see new buds ready to open, open blossoms, and wilted blossoms all at once.

Not all evening primrose species follow that pattern. The showy evening primrose, for example, is a perennial. It regrows annually from the deep root system established in its first year.

Some evening primrose species, like the one above, have a somewhat weedy look, while others are lusher.

Within a few days to a week after blossoms are gone, seed pods begin to appear.

Depending on the species, most seed pods mature, dry out, and split open by late summer to early fall.

These are evening primrose seeds. Birds love these things.

The seeds are where evening primrose oil comes from. It has been used for centuries by Native Americans for a variety of purposes.

Most parts of evening primrose plants are edible, depending on when they are harvested. The roots can be eaten raw or cooked like potatoes. The leaves, preferably gathered in their first year, can be eaten raw, used in salads, cooked like spinach, or added to soup for flavoring. In some areas, tea is made from the leaves to reduce fatigue.

For those who like to get their food naturally, there are areas in the eastern part of Canada and America where there is an abundant supply of evening primrose plants available for harvesting.

Artwork

Hisui Sugiura (1876 - 1965)

He was a graduate of the Tokyo School of Art where he studied Western-style art and European design. However, his ambition was to become a professional painter in traditional Japanese-style art. After graduating, he took a variety of jobs. From 1922 to 1924, he traveled to Europe to study modern design. He made a career in commercial design and became a lecturer at the Japan School of Art. His hanga (woodblock print) below is titled Evening Primrose. It is undated.