Onagraceae
Evening-Primrose Family
Ludwigia alternifolia
Ludwigia palustris
Purple-Leaved Willow-Herb (Epilobium
coloratum). The genus Empilobium
includes some spectacular flowers, like Fireweed (E.
angustifolium). It also includes these little
weeds that you pass right by without noticing. They’re
worth a look, though: up close the flowers are
beautiful, and the plants often have purple stems or
even purple leaves (in spite of the English name,
purple leaves are by no means guaranteed) that add to
the decorative effect. They like moist areas, and seem
to have a special affinity in the city for damp
sidewalks.
Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis).
A tall and stately weed whose flowers we almost never
get to see in their full glory. It’s a night-bloomer,
opening at dusk and fading in the early hours of the
morning. These pictures were taken shortly after
sunrise at the edge of a parking lot in Beechview,
where Evening Primroses were blooming in the middle of
August.
Oenothera pilosella
Oenothera tetragona
Oenothera perennis
Biennial Gaura (Oenothera gaura).
A tall member of the Evening Primrose family
distinguished by its spindly flowers with prominent
stamens. It was formerly classified in its own genus
as Gaura biennis. It is not a common flower
around here, but it is very adaptable in its habitat.
These were blooming in the Kane Woods Nature Area,
Scott Township, in a clearing near a woodland stream.
Some botanical sources, on the other hand, say that
Gauras like dry soil best.
Enchanter’s Nightshade (Circaea
lutetiana). A woodland plant with
inconspicuous two-petaled flowers whose odd shape
deserves a closer look, perhaps with a glass.
Enchanter’s Nightshade has a longstanding reputation
as a sorcerer’s plant, and indeed it may have been
brought from Europe for that purpose. Modern
magic-supply houses often sell the seeds. Many
botanists recognize a native American species, Circaea
canadensis, which may be the one we find in our
area; but the USDA
PLANTS Database so far does not recognize it, so
we provisionally identify these as C. lutetiana.