Last week one evening I went to Chase county Lake to see the wildflowers. I was too late for the Blue false Indigo but many others were either in full bloom or just about to start. The Missouri Evening Primrose was everywhere and so big and bright you could see it across the valleys. I think I figured out why it is called Missouri evening primrose because as I was watching this one, it opened in front of my eyes.
Common names are sometimes given for the state in which they were first found like carolina rose or Canada thistle.
By the way, that is neither Oenothera biennis or O. missourienses. Some tenure driven taxonomist convinced the botany world that O. missouriensis should be called O. macrocarpa, which means large flower. That happened about 20 years ago and Missouriens haven't been the same since.
On a cloudy morning, they'll stay open an hour or so longer. Without being able to see the shape and length of the leaves and the type of fruit in order to confirm O. macrocarpa, it could be one of the other ground huggers.
Cool shots, Ken! Amazing how quickly it opened up. That would have been neat to see in person. This is a beautiful specimen and right now there are certainly a lot of different species blooming.
Good catch Ken. Certainly appears to have broad petals.
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on June 10, 2009 at 5:05 PM
Really nice series Ken. The accompanying story really helps to convey what you saw that day. A beautiful looking flower ... missouri - kansas or whatever! Thanks for sharing.
Discussion
9 repliesNow if I could just figure out why it is called Missouri Evening Primrose because it sure does well in Kansas.
The whole series can be seen here
I am much more familiar with the <i>Oenothera speciosa<i/>, the white and pink flowers common along the highways in Oklahoma and Texas.
By the way, that is neither Oenothera biennis or O. missourienses. Some tenure driven taxonomist convinced the botany world that O. missouriensis should be called O. macrocarpa, which means large flower. That happened about 20 years ago and Missouriens haven't been the same since.
On a cloudy morning, they'll stay open an hour or so longer. Without being able to see the shape and length of the leaves and the type of fruit in order to confirm O. macrocarpa, it could be one of the other ground huggers.
Best,
Don