Primrose, Pink Ladies

Pink Ladies (Showy Evening Primrose) Oenothera speciosa. This short (10-15”), pithy, thin stemmed annual has alternating, lance shaped leaves, the older leaves pinnate towards the stem, while younger leaves have a smooth margin.  The 4 petals of the large (2-3”), paper thin, pink flowers unfurl in slow succession from tightly rolled buds arranged on a drooping, terminal spike. The rounded petals are deeply veined with red, while the color of the petals shifts to yellow around the nectar tube in the center.  Eight long stamens, each holding a pair of yellow anthers, rise from the inner rim of the petals.  A filamentous pistol, with a cross-shaped stigma, emerges from the central tube.  Occasionally growing in full sun, the plant prefers partial shade, such as forest margins Flowers begin white, blushing pink over their short (2-3 day) life.  Roadsides, PDU, PL (278) 4/6/15-5/5/15; 3/27/16; 3/15/17-6/5/17; 3/25/18; 4/7/19; 3/28/20;

Pink Ladies habit; fibrous stems with alternating lance-shaped leaves, and terminal spikes of large, white to pink flowers

Note; deep red veining in the 4 petals, with a yellow zone in the center around the nectar tube,

 

Note; pistol in central nectar tube has an X shaped stigma

Note; 8 filamentous stamen on the rim of the hollow, yellow nectar tube have two anthers per stamen,