This week for Flora and Fauna Friday we have a common wildflower of spring, Cut-leaf Evening-Primrose (Oenothera laciniata).
Cut-leaf Evening-Primrose is a common herbaceous annual found across Edisto Island. Its leaves are deeply lobed and its stem gnarled and drooping. Stems are usually reddish and finely haired. It’s found most often in sun on sandy soils but will grow in most open habitat where soil is bare. The flowers are middling in size with four heart-shaped petals a pastel-yellow. As the flowers age and fade they turn an orange that sinks to pink. The petals then curl in and abreast a new bloom is ushered forth to take its place. This species can be quite prolific and even becomes a groundcover in the right conditions. The fruits are finger shaped and dry to shed many small seeds. This species belongs to a diverse genus with many varied species.
The Cut-leaf Evening-Primrose is small and rather inconspicuous compared to its cogenerates. Species in the same genus include the hot pink and large-flowered Showy Evening-Primrose (O. speciosa), the man-height Common Evening-Primrose (O. biennis), the dune blooming Beach Evening-Primrose (O. drummondii), and the feathery formed, thread petalled Southern Beeblossum (O. simulans). While these species may be more impressive aesthetically, physically, or ecologically, none fill the same niche as our little Cut-leaf Evening-Primrose. It’s small, ragged, and weedy but Cut-leaf Evening-Primrose is our most common member of the Evening-Primroses. Although so slight, it provides much needed pollen and nectar to our spring bees where the others cannot reach. A humble and diligent flower in every way.
