Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Erect biennial to short-lived perennial with taproot, forming rosette; stems 4-25 dm tall, green, flushed with red below or entirely red, branched or unbranched; pubescence variable, from densely stiff hairs, to some longer appressed hairs, to sparse glandular-puberulent.

Leaves: Dull green to gray green with white veins, sparsely to densely stiff hairs, rosette 10-43 cm long, 1.2-4 cm wide, narrowly oblanceolate to oblanceolate, base narrowed to petiole; cauline leaves 4-25 cm long, 1-2.5 cm wide, narrowly oblanceolate to elliptic, sessile or short petiolate, margin bluntly dentate to subentire.

Flowers: Unbranched inflorescence, flowers at acute to obtuse angle to stem; hypanthium 3-5 cm long, 1.2-1.8 mm in diameter, yellow or flushed with red with variable pubescence; sepals 2.7-5 cm long, 4-8 mm wide, yellowish green, red-striped or flushed with red; petals 3-5.5 cm long, 3-5.3 cm wide, yellow to pale yellow, broadly ovate.

Fruits: Capsules 2-6.5 cm long, tapering upward, narrowly lanceolate, seeds reddish-brown in 2 rows in each cell.

Ecology: Found in along streams, in meadows, rocky slopes or scree, or in other distrubed habitats from 2,000-9,000 ft (610-2743 m); flowers June-October.

Notes: Polymorphic species throughout the west. In our region there are two subspecies: subsp. hirsutissima and subsp. hookeri. The former is sparsely villous, with the stem exclusively strigillose, mature buds are narrowly lanceolate, with conspicuous free tips of the capsule valves; this plant can also grow quite large. The latter will always be flushed with red, usually with long-villous red-pustulate hairs, usually smaller than the former.

Ethnobotany: Used as a ceremonial emetic, as a cold remedy, for sores, swellings, mumps, as a life medicine, as a yellow dye, as a good luck charm, and a means to repel snakes.

Etymology: Oenothera is from Greek oinos, wine and thera, to imbibe, while elata means tall.

Synonyms: None, but the subspecies have many, see Tropicos

Editor: SBuckley, 2010