Oenothera elata – Hooker's Evening Primrose
Scientific Name: Oenothera elata
Synonym: Oenothera hookeri
Common Names: Hooker's Evening Primrose, Western Evening-primrose
Duration: Biennial, Perennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert (upper elevations), Upland, Mountain, Riparian. This plant typically grows in moist locations and is usually found in riparian areas here.
Flower Color: Yellow, Orange (when old and wilted)
Flowering Season: Summer, Fall. This showy wildflower blooms after the summer monsoon rains have begun.
Height: To 4 feet (1.2 m) tall
Description: The flowers open late in the day and then close the following morning. The flowers are up to 3 inches (7.6 cm) across and have 4 broadly heart-shaped, yellow petals that turn a reddish orange color as they age and wilt. The flowers are followed by slender, green, 2 inch (5 cm) long seedpods. The leaves grow along the stems and are green and lanceolate or elliptical in shape. The stems are slender and upright, and the plants are tall and narrow.
Butterfly Plant – The flowers attract hummingbird moths.
Edible – The raw or cooked young leaves, cooked young seedpods, and the boiled roots are edible but have a mucilaginous texture.
Fragrant – The flowers are nocturnal and fragrant at night.
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Family: Onagraceae – Evening Primrose family
Genus: Oenothera L. – evening primrose
Species: Oenothera elata Kunth – Hooker's evening primrose
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