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Tufted Evening Primrose
Oenothera cespitosa Nutt.
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Family: Onagraceae,
Evening Primrose
Genus: Oenothera
Description
General: tufted, stemless to short-stemmed perennial
rarely as much as 25 cm tall, hairless to densely short-
hairy or long-soft-hairy, depending on variety.
 Leaves: basal, narrowly to broadly oblanceolate, usually
10-25 cm long and 1-2.5 cm broad, oblanceolate, gradually
tapered to the slender stalks which are about equal to the
shallowly pinnatifid to shallowly toothed blades.
 Flowers: single on each stalk from the base of the
plant, open in the evening. The free hypanthium slender,
somewhat flared above, 5-12 cm long, greenish or reddish.
The 4 calyx lobes 2.5-3.5 cm long, joined or free, often
sharply bent back. The 4 petals white, aging to pinkish,
heart-shaped, 2.5-4.5 cm. long, slightly notched. Anthers
8-13 mm long. Style 2-4 cm long, the 4 stigma lobes 5-8
mm long.
Flowering time: May-July.
 Fruits: capsules, woody, oblong-ovoid, 1-2 cm long,
4-angled but not winged, often covered with warty bumps,
stalkless or with a stalk as much as 1 cm. long.
Distribution
Talus slopes, roadcuts, and dry hills, in most parts of MT.
Also widespread over much of w. U.S.
 Medicinal plant, see below.
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(click on image for full size)
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(click on images for full size)
Tufted evening primrose was used medicinally by several Indian tribes, among those the Blackfoot, the Gosiute, the Isleta, Navajo, Kayenta and Hopi Indians. A wet poultice of crushed or pounded roots was applied to sores and swellings, especially to inflamed sores.
A poultice of dried, ground leaves was used on sores for rapid healing.
It was also applied for prolapses of the uterus.
The plant was used with Kachina ears for sore eyes.
It was also used as a toothache medicine.
Varieties:
Our specimen belong to ssp. cespitosa Nutt.
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