Common evening primrose is a biennial wildflower native to eastern and central North America, grown for its night-opening yellow flowers and seeds. It is a tough, weedy plant that thrives in disturbed, sunny ground.
Family
Onagraceae (Evening-primrose family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Drought tolerant; water young plants until established, then only in long dry spells.
Soil
Poor to average, well-drained soil; tolerates sand and gravel.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters and tolerant of heat; suited to temperate climates.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Canada to C. Mexico
Climate
temperate
About
Oenothera biennis, the common evening-primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family Onagraceae, native to eastern and central North America, from Newfoundland west to Alberta, southeast to Florida, and southwest to Texas, and widely naturalized elsewhere in temperate and subtropical regions. Evening primrose oil is produced from the plant.
Where it grows
This plant is a weedy species that favors disturbed environments. It has been introduced and become established on all continents except Antarctica.
Uses
Over the centuries, Indigenous people in North America have used the plant as food and traditional medicine.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Oenothera biennis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.