Oenothera brachycarpa is an almost acaulescent evening primrose with bright yellow flowers and a four-parted stigma. The leaves are shallowly lobed. The capsules are winged. Oenothera brachycarpa is found on the roadside at middle to upper elevation.

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Perennial, acaulescent or nearly so with canescent herbage.

Leaves: Lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate blades, 4-15 cm long, 10-20 mm wide, entire to sinuate-pinnatifid, petioled.

Flowers: In the axils of the uppermost leaves, hypanthium 5-15 cm long, sepals 30-50 mm long; petals yellow, 30-60 mm long, becoming orange-red in age.

Fruits: Capsule 25-30 mm long, ovoid to ellipsoid, sometimes attenuate to the apex, winged for the entire length.

Ecology: Found on dry rocky slopes; 4,000-7,000 ft (1219-2134 m); flowers May-July.

Distribution: s NV, AZ, NM, s TX, KS; south to c MEX.

Notes: Distinguished from the vegetatively similar O. caespitosa by the shorter stem, such that the plant is more of a distinct basal rosette in O. brachycarpa, while in the former it elongates and forms a much larger rosette. But when in flower the yellow flowers of O. brachycarpa distinguish it clearly from the white petals of the former and the hypanthium of 5-15 mm distinguishes it from other yellow-flowered species. The fact that it is a perennial, pubescent all over and the fruit is ovoid. prismatic and broadly-4-winged throughout its length combined with these other characters makes it distinct from other species.

Ethnobotany: Used as a lotion for sores.

Etymology: Oenothera is from Greek oinos, wine and thera, to imbibe, brachycarpa means short fruit.

Synonyms: Lavauxia brachycarpa, Megapterium brachycarpum, Oenothera brachycarpa var. wrightii, O. caespitosa subsp. australis, O. caespitosa var. australis, O. cespitosa var. australis, O. cespitosa subsp. australis

Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015