[Evening-primroses: The Genus Camissonia in the Columbia
River Gorge of Oregon and Washington] - [The Evening-primroses of the Columbia
River Gorge of Oregon and Washington]
Contorted Pod Evening Primrose, Contorted Pod Suncup, Plains Evening-primrose, Slender Evening Primrose, Twisted Suncup
Camissonia contorta
Synonyms: Oenothera contorta, Oenothera contorta var. contorta, Oenothera cruciata (illeg.), Oenothera dentata
The photo above shows a close-up of the flower of slender evening-primrose as seen at Horsethief Butte........May 10, 2009. Note the large, knob-like stigma.
Characteristics:
Slender evening-primrose is a low growing annual with one stem
or more commonly branched and sprawling stems ranging from 5-15 cm long. The
herbage ranges from spreading-pubescent to glandular-puberulent. The leaves
range from linear to linear-lanceolate or linear-oblanceolate with entire to
slightly toothed margins. The leaves range from 10-30 mm long. The floral bracts
are of similar shape and size.
The flowers are sessile or on short pedicels. The four yellow
petals range from 2.5-4 mm long with unequally-sized stamens, the longer pair
usually nearly twice the length of the shorter pair. The capsule is linear in
shape, and ranges from 2-54 cm long and about 1 mm in width.
Habitat:
Slender evening-primrose may be found in sandy soils along
the coast and along river banks.
Range:
Slender evening-primrose may be found along the coast from
British Columbia south to Baja California and east along the rivers to the Rocky
Mountains.
In the Columbia River Gorge, it may be found between the elevations
of 200'-500' east of Lyle, WA.
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Contorted pod suncup growing at left on sandy soils along Washington Highway 14 at the base of the Goodnoe Hills in south-central Klickitat County, WA.......April 20, 2011. The photo at right shows contorted pod suncup blooming near the previous location along WA SR 14, about 1 mile west of Rock Creek........May 2, 2019.
The photo above shows the general shape of slender evening-primrose as seen at Horsethief Butte.......April 24, 2006. As seen here, plants of this species tend to be 6-8 cm high.
The photo above shows a close-up of the hairy, contorted fruits of slender evening-primrose as seen at Horsethief Butte.........May 10, 2009. Note the hairy, contorted fruits.
Slender evening-primrose as seen at Horsethief Butte.........May 10, 2009.
The photo above shows a close-up of the flower of slender evening-primrose as seen at Horsethief Butte.......April 24, 2006.
Paul Slichter