North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Oenothera fruticosa

Oenothera fruticosa L.

southern sundrops, narrowleaf evening primrose

Image ID: 24035
Image by: Ware, Richard & Teresa
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: OEFR
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Oenothera fruticosa
Include in WOTAS: 1
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-02-12

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: OENOT
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Oenothera
GENUS AUTHORITY: L.
GENUS COMMON: Evening primrose
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 145 species (188 taxa), herbs, of America (especially temperate regions). This treatment provisional, with further revision likely, especially in the O. fruticosa-O. tetragona-O. pilosella complex.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Wagner, Hoch, & Raven (2007)=U; Dietrich, Wagner, & Raven (1997)=Z; Dietrich & Wagner (1988)=Y; Munz (1965)=X; Straley (1977)=V. Keys adapted in part from those references.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: ONAGRA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Onagraceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Evening-primrose Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 18 genera and 655 species, herbs, shrubs, and rarely trees, cosmopolitan (especially of temperate and subtropical America).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Wagner, Hock, & Raven (2007); Munz (1965)=X; Crisci et al. (1990).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO: Erect perennial found in dry forests and woodlands, glades and rock outcrops.
STEMS: Stems simple or branched above, often tinged dark red, rough-hairy.
LEAVES: Basal leaves form a rosette the first year and are oval to spoon-shaped; stem leaves are alternate, sessile or short-petioled, elliptic to lance-shaped, to 4 in. long.
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS: Flowers in compact, occasionally nodding clusters at tips of stems and solitary in axils of reduced leaves; each flower lemon yellow, about 2 in. wide, consisting of 4 notch-tipped petals, 8 stamens and a cross-shaped stigma. An elongated calyx tube consists of 4 spreading or reflexed sepals.
FRUITS: Fruit a strongly 4-angled, club-shaped capsule.
COMMENTS: Flowers close at night.
HEIGHT: 1-2 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Herb

LEAF ARRANGEMENT: Alternate
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY: Radial (Actinomorphic)
BLOOM TIME: Apr-Aug

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR: Lemon-yellow

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Dry forests, Outcrops and glades, Woods margins
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: The lemon-yellow flowers of southern sundrops add a cheerful touch to the garden. They make a nice low-growing filler for the sunny perennial border. The attractive foliage is glossy green, often with purplish spots. In the wild, southern sundrops are found growing in dry woods and meadows and along roadsides. Any well-drained soil is fine for growing this cheerful southeastern native perennial. Very drought-tolerant once established. The Oenothera genus supports up to 16 species of lepidoptera. 1989 N.C. Wildflower of the Year.

Bloom Table Text: Common in woods, meadows and roadsides, this native wildflower creates a showy display in late spring and early summer. The large size and intense yellow color of the flowers has led to its frequent cultivation. Although a member of the Evening-primrose Family, sundrops are open only during the day rather than at night. Cherokee Indians used this plant as a potherb - the leaves were parboiled, rinsed, and cooked in hot grease. **1989 North Carolina Wildflower of the Year**

NCBG Location: Education Center Landscape, Native Perennial Border, Piedmont Habitat, Plant Families Garden

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE: 1, 4
WILDLIFE VALUE: Bee Friendly, Butterfly Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
232	HORT	2010-06-17	Poythress	View
289	HORT	2009-01-01	NCBG staff	View
1185	HORT	1986-12-31		View
1259	HORT	2005-06-24	Bryan	View
1306	HORT			View
1319	HORT	2006-07-01	Bryan	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
233	2011-0061	2011-04-05	232	View
284	2011-0143	2011-06-16	289	View
1984	1986-1775			View
2319	1986-2152			View
4184	1992-0340			View
5719	1995-0845			View
6209	1995-1341			View
8916	1986-2340	0000-00-00	1185	View
9131	2006-0337	2006-10-25	1306	View
9213	2013-0036	2020-05-05	0	View
9374	2021-0037	2021-04-05	0	View
9418	2021-0080	2021-06-29		View
9448	2021-0107	2021-07-12	0	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
496	233	32	NCBG staff	2011-03-29	View
497	233	28	NCBG staff	2011-03-29	View
498	233	29	NCBG staff	2011-03-29	View
499	233	31	NCBG staff	2011-03-29	View
502	233	36	Randall	2011-04-19	View
503	233	15	NCBG staff	2011-05-17	View
504	233	44	NCBG staff	2011-05-10	View
505	233	19	NCBG staff	2011-05-12	View
506	233	39	NCBG staff	2011-05-13	View
675	284	21	NCBG staff	2011-06-16	View
3178	1984	61	NCBG staff	1986-12-23	View
3179	1984	63	NCBG staff	1986-12-23	View
4002	2319	94	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4224	8916	27	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4225	8916	27	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4226	8916	142	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
4227	8916	143	NCBG staff	1986-12-31	View
6512	4184	200	NCBG staff	1993-03-01	View
8233	5719	204	NCBG staff	1993-01-01	View
8864	6209	2	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
11905	9131	135	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
12298	9213	17	Liloia	2013-05-03	View
12354	9213	20	Liloia	2014-08-26	View
12598	9374	226	Wait	2020-06-25	View
12599	9374	227	Wait	2020-06-25	View
12600	9374	228	Wait	2020-06-25	View
12601	9374	229	Wait	2020-06-25	View
12731	9418	146	Wenck	2021-05-03	View
12830	0	18	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
12839	9448	21	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
12919	0	198	MacIntyre	0000-00-00	View
13138	0	16	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
13754	0	71	Liloia	0000-00-00	View
14095	0	34	Wait	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: OEFR
USDA Common Name: Narrowleaf Evening Primrose
Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, WV), CAN (MB, NB, NS, ON, QC)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Forb/herb

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FACU				FAC	FAC		FACU	FACU

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Oenothera fruticosa var. fruticosa
COMMON NAME: Southern Sundrops
SYNONYMY: [= F, G, X; < O. fruticosa - C, RAB, Va, WH3; < O. fruticosa ssp. fruticosa - K1, K2, Mo, Pa, U, V, W; > O. fruticosa var. linearis (Michaux) S. Watson - F, WV; > O. fruticosa var. humifusa Allen - F, G, X; > Kneiffia fruticosa (Linnaeus) Raimann - S; > Kneiffia arenicola Small - S; > Kneiffia semiglandulosa Pennell - S]
PHENOLOGY:
HABITAT: Cp (DE, GA, NC, SC, VA), Pd (DE, GA, NC, SC, VA), Mt (GA, NC, VA, WV):
COMMENTS: Dry forests and woodlands, glades, and rock outcrops; common (rare in DE). Apr-Aug. MA west to IN, south to FL and LA.
RANGE MAP:

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Onagraceae A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Evening-primrose Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 18 genera and 655 species, herbs, shrubs, and rarely trees, cosmopolitan (especially of temperate and subtropical America).
REFERENCE: Wagner, Hock, & Raven (2007); Munz (1965)=X; Crisci et al. (1990).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Oenothera L. (Evening primrose)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 145 species (188 taxa), herbs, of America (especially temperate regions). This treatment provisional, with further revision likely, especially in the O. fruticosa-O. tetragona-O. pilosella complex.
REFERENCE: Wagner, Hoch, & Raven (2007)=U; Dietrich, Wagner, & Raven (1997)=Z; Dietrich & Wagner (1988)=Y; Munz (1965)=X; Straley (1977)=V. Keys adapted in part from those references.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Oenothera fruticosa in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Oenothera fruticosa in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Oenothera fruticosa in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Oenothera fruticosa in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Oenothera fruticosa in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Oenothera fruticosa

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 24035 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 24035 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 0 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 19700 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 38122 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)