LARGE-FLOWERED EVENING-PRIMROSE

Oenothera glazioviana

Willowherb Family [Onagraceae]

month8jun month8june month8jul month8july month8aug month8sep month8sept

status
statusZneophyte
 
flower
flower8yellow
 
morph
morph8actino
 
petals
petalsZ4
 
type
typeZspiked
 
stem
stem8round
 
smell
smell8fragrant
fragrant

10th July 2011, Birkdale, Sefton Coast. Photo: © Phil Smith
A conglomeration of Large-flowered Evening-Primrose.


10th July 2011, Birkdale, Sefton Coast Photo: © Phil Smith
It grows to 1.8m in height.


30th June 2014, Crosby Marine Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © Phil Smith
Reach for the sky!


30th June 2014, Crosby Marine Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © Phil Smith


4th July 2011, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. Photo: © Phil Smith


4th July 2011, Ainsdale, Sefton Coast. Photo: © Phil Smith
Only the green parts of the stem and of the fruit (not shown here) have hairs with red bulbous bases. The topmost flowers are still enclosed by the 4 orange-pink sepals. The rachis (stalk) of the flowers are red towards the end. The un-opened flower buds are orange-pink and without any stripes.


1st October 2009, Sands Lake, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © Phil Smith
The petals are a large 3 to 5cm and are wider than they are long and always yellow (not with red tinges).


1st October 2009, Sands Lake, Waterloo, Sefton Coast. Photo: © Phil Smith
The stigmas atop the style are held above the anthers of the filaments.

The seed capsules (not shown) are widest near their bases (as they are for a few other Evening-primrose species except Fragrant Evening Primrose). The seed capsules of Large-flowered Evening-primrose being between 6 and 8mm wide at their widest.

The seeds (not shown) are sharply angled (as are those of Common Evening-Primrose and Intermediate Evening-Primrose [apart from those of Fragrant Evening Primrose]) .



1st Sept 2018, moore Nature Reserve, nr. Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
Much earlier in the year, in a differing location far away from the hybrid swarms on the Sefton Coast. This is the basal rosette of Large-flowered Evening-primrose.


1st Sept 2018, moore Nature Reserve, nr. Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
A somewhat non-vertical specimen.


1st Sept 2018, moore Nature Reserve, nr. Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
At the top young flowers.
Centre the fruits.
Bottom flowers yet to open.


1st Sept 2018, moore Nature Reserve, nr. Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
Young flowers still developing at the summit; older specimens beneath. The leaves have a broad central vein especially nearer the stalk.


1st Sept 2018, moore Nature Reserve, nr. Runcorn, Cheshire. Photo: © RWD
The stems have some hairs with raised red-pimpled bases, and others on the branches without red bases but still slightly pimpled.






PROBABLY A BACK-CROSS

This specimen is very atypical of Large-flowered Evening-Primrose (Oenothera glazioviana); it is possibly a back-cross between that and Common Evening-Primrose (O. biennis)

19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
An exceedingly windy day when no plant would stay still. Nestled in amongst Common Ragwort and other plants it grows to 1.8m high, slightly taller than other tall Evening-primroses.


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
It has long flower-buds which open into large flowers. The petals should be 3-5cm long for Large-flowered Evening-primrose, but these are smaller. The petals should be wider than they are long for Large-flowered Evening-primrose.


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Sepals long and reflexed downwards and often have a red-pinkish tinge.


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Large flowers with long flower-buds. However, this specimen has smaller flowers than is usual.


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
It has a long style (top left) thrusting much higher than do the stamens - however for Large-flowered Evening-primrose the stigma should be longer than exhibited by this specimen. [Strong wind not helping your photographer - he tried to take this photo about 9 times, and this is the best shot he got].


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Long flower-buds which should have orange-pinkish buds but without stripes on the outside for Large-flowered Evening-primrose, but this looks more like a hybrid.


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
The lower part of the flower-stem (that which becomes the fruit) has hairs with red bulbous bases (they look blackish here) on the green parts.


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Hairs with red bulbous-bases on the green parts of the developing fruits.


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
This specimen has more noticeably pink and long flower-buds.


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Leaves crinkly and warped (but not crinkly and warped enough for the true pure Large-flowered Evening-primrose).


19th Aug 2017, dunes, Crosby Coastal Park, Sefton Coast. Photo: © RWD
Leaves crinkly and warped.




BLUE WITH COLD!

This specimen obviously has hairs with bulbous bases - the frost has formed white blobs around them - so this makes it one of those Evening-primroses - but not necessarily Large-flowered Evening-primrose

6th Dec 2010, nr bird hide, Marshside, Southport. Photo: © Roger Hewitt
The only explanation botanists have been able to come up with for this strange 'blue with cold' coloration is that they were sprayed by contractors for some work about to commence. Your Author does not buy that. Anthocyanin pigments are responsible for the red coloration of both sepals and fruit cases on those Evening-primroses which have red parts. It is well-proven that red Anthocyanins change colour as the pH turns more alkaline. Your Author thinks that the originally red-striped parts of the seed casings containing anthocyanins has had the pH of it altered by being completely frozen, but not everywhere.


6th Dec 2010, nr bird hide, Marshside, Southport. Photo: © Roger Hewitt
These seed cases belong to an Evening-primrose which has hairs with bulbous bases - the frost has gathered around those bases both on the stem and on the fruit cases. So this narrows down which species of Evening-primrose they belong to, but does not nail it. And it could be one of the very numerous hybrids in the hybrid swarm existing especially on the Sefton Coast.


6th Dec 2010, nr bird hide, Marshside, Southport. Photo: © Roger Hewitt
On these specimens which have only partially turned blue, it is the originally red-striped areas which have turned blue. Perhaps those which haven't turned blue never had red stripes there - they don't always - look at other normally red-striped seed cases of Evening-primroses, some are not red-striped even on the same plant!


Easily confused with : other Evening-primroses (Oenothera) species.

Hybridizes in a (unique to the UK) way with : Evening-Primrose (Small-Flowered) (Oenothera cambrica), Evening-Primrose (Intermediate) (Oenothera × fallax), Evening-Primrose (Common) (Oenothera biennis) and with any of their hybrids or itself to produce a 'hybrid swarm', whenever two (or more) of those are in proximity. Many of these hybrids have no common nor botanical name. See  Hybrid Swarms.

The identifying features to look out for in this species, Oenothera glazioviana are:

  • Flower stalk: red towards top
  • Flower buds: Long with pink stripes
  • Flower size: Large Petals 3-5cm long, wider than they are long.
  • Stigma versus Stamen length: Style much longer
  • Leaves: Crinkly and warped
  • Fruits: hairs with red bulbous bases on the green parts
  • Stem: hairs with red bulbous bases on the green parts

This Evening-primrose not only grows near the coast on sand dunes, but also on waysides and waste ground especially any near the sea.

Because the style of Large-evening Primrose is held aloft above the anthers it is less likely to in-breed and more likely to outbreed, taking part in hybrid-swarm orgies. It is the commonest species both in the wild and in gardens and is particularly abundant on the Sefton Coast where it partakes in the hybrid swarm. This species is not closely0 matched in North American populations so there may be a possibility that this species evolved in Europe by both mutation and by hybridisation and therefore was not introduced from North America. It may also be a similar case with some of the distinctive 'segregates' of Common Evening-Primrose (Oenothera biennis) which were once recognised as a separate species: Welsh Evening-primrose (Oenothera cambrica) which differs from Common Evening-Primrose in having longer petals and fruit capsules and in the lower capsules lacking glandular hairs.


  Oenothera glazioviana  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Onagraceae  

Distribution
 family8Willowherb family8Onagraceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Oenothera
Oenothera
(Evening-Primroses)

LARGE-FLOWERED EVENING-PRIMROSE

Oenothera glazioviana

Willowherb Family [Onagraceae]