LARGE-FLOWERED GAURA
Oenothera filiformis
EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY (Onagraceae)
Identification
- Flowering time - August, September, October
- Rare (single sighting) in Knull Prairie at NW
- Distinctive tubular flower with 4 petals in a semicircle around the upper end of the tube
- Tall gangly plant with sparse leaves
- White petals turn pink as flower matures
This native annual or winter annual grows 2 to 7 feet tall with many branched stems and sparse, elliptical leaves (D). At the tips of upper branches are loose clusters of distinctive, tubular flowers 3/4 inch wide. The 4 rounded white petals with narrow bases are arranged in a semicircle around the upper mouth of the tube (A). Projecting below the petals are 8 white stamens with reddish anthers bearing yellow pollen and a white pistil with a 4-lobed, pale green tip (A,B). Mature petals and the sharply curled back sepals turn a deep pink color before falling (C).
Found in drier prairies, open woodlands and open disturbed sites, flowering from mid-August to mid-October. A single plant, whose photos appear above, was found in Knull Prairie at Neale Woods in 2003. None have been seen since.
Other common names are Butterfly Weed and Beeblossom.
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