Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Edible Wild Plants/Evening Primrose"
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| name = Evening Primrose | | name = Evening Primrose | ||
| image = Oenothera biennis 20050825 962.jpg | | image = Oenothera biennis 20050825 962.jpg | ||
| + | | image2 = Oenothera-biennis-root.jpg | ||
| + | | caption2 = Tap root shown next to a carrot for comparison. | ||
| description = Evening primrose (''Oenothera biennis'') is a biennial (living for two years) flowering plant growing to 30–150 cm tall. The leaves are lanceolate, 5–20 cm long and 1–2.5 cm broad, produced in a tight rosette in the first year, and spirally on the stem in the second year. The flowers are pale yellow, 2.5–5 cm diameter, with four petals; they are produced on a tall spike from late spring to late summer. They open in the evening, hence the name "evening primrose", and close by the following noon. | | description = Evening primrose (''Oenothera biennis'') is a biennial (living for two years) flowering plant growing to 30–150 cm tall. The leaves are lanceolate, 5–20 cm long and 1–2.5 cm broad, produced in a tight rosette in the first year, and spirally on the stem in the second year. The flowers are pale yellow, 2.5–5 cm diameter, with four petals; they are produced on a tall spike from late spring to late summer. They open in the evening, hence the name "evening primrose", and close by the following noon. | ||
| range = Lower 48 US State (outside the Rockies) and throughout most of Canada. | | range = Lower 48 US State (outside the Rockies) and throughout most of Canada. | ||
Revision as of 19:06, 14 January 2011
Evening Primrose
Description: Evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a biennial (living for two years) flowering plant growing to 30–150 cm tall. The leaves are lanceolate, 5–20 cm long and 1–2.5 cm broad, produced in a tight rosette in the first year, and spirally on the stem in the second year. The flowers are pale yellow, 2.5–5 cm diameter, with four petals; they are produced on a tall spike from late spring to late summer. They open in the evening, hence the name "evening primrose", and close by the following noon.
Where found: Lower 48 US State (outside the Rockies) and throughout most of Canada.
Availability: Year-round.
Use: The large tap root of the first-year plant can be cleaned, peeled and boiled as a vegetable. The roots can grow to the size of a large carrot. The first year plants are easiest to find by locating the second year plants first, and then searching the vicinity for the basal rosettes of the first year specimens. By the second year the roots are too tough to eat.
