Lore: When I was a child these flowers bloomed in our yard and we would pluck them and paint our cheeks with the yellow pollen.

Similar Species: Bigfruit Evening-primrose, Oenothera macrocarpa AKA Missouri Evening-Primrose (O. Missouriensis) is similar but has leaves that are entire.
Showy Evening-Primrose or Pinkladies (O. Speciosa) has pink or white flowers and has escaped cultivation (considered native to North America) and is now found throughout the southern states.
Most other Evening-Primroses in our area are taller.

Fruits © Daniel Reed   E-mail      Image use policy Ads on this page help pay for this site but if you see one that seems inappropriate here such as one that is counter to the pro environmental theme please let me know which Ad and I will block it. Report a Bad Ad

One of the best general guides to wildflowers of the North Eastern and North Central United States. Newcomb's key is an excellent, simple method for identifying plants. Newcomb has drawings for almost every plant mentioned that are excellent aids to identifying the species. Though only the more common plants are covered this is often the first book I pick up when trying to identify a wildflower.

Wildflo wers of Tennessee the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians

This is perhaps the best of many field guides covering this region. Featuring 446 excellent color photographs (located with the text) and mentioning as similar to those illustrated are another 800 or so species for a total coverage of over 1,200 species. The start of each family section includes line drawings of some of the species showing important features. The text includes the usual description, bloom season, range, habitat and additionally includes information such as medical uses and lore and how the species was named. This is the official field guide of the Tennessee Native Plant Society.