Common Evening Primrose.Œnothera biennis.
Found in pastures and roadsides, beginning to bloom in July and continuing until frost-time.
The stout and leafy stalk grows from 1 to 4 feet high; it is woody-fibred, hairy, and light green in color.
The narrow, lance-shaped leaf tapers at each end, and has a strong midrib, an irregular margin, and a very downy surface; in color green. The upper leaves clasp the stalk by a stem-like base, the lower ones with a strong, little foot-stem; they are alternately placed.
The 4 large heart-shaped petals, of a fine, thin texture, are a pure light yellow color; the 8 stamens are orange-tipped, and the 4 divisions of the calyx are pale yellow; they turn back upon its tube with a twisting gesture. This calyx-tube is over an inch in length, the lower half, which contains the seed-box, is enlarged, grooved, sticky to the touch, and shining green; the upper part is slender, smooth, and not sticky, and pale yellow in color. The flowers are set close on the stalk in the hold of the leaves.
After its one night’s fragrant perfection, the withered blossom hangs for a day or two, before its calyx-tube severs itself from the seed-box as neatly as though cut by a knife. It is only by chance that the clarity of the flower’s yellow hue is seen, when, in some gray morning fog, a belated flower is caught full-blown. Sometimes the plant grows to the size of a bush; its fall seedling shows a flat tuffet of curious, white-marked lily-like leaves that hug the ground.