Plant Story--Oenothera curtiflora, Velvetweed, Small-Flowered Gaura,

Velvetweed is a very widespread plant, found all across the United States except the Northeast. It stands up to 9' tall and yet has a very low profile. 

velvetweed, Oenothera curtiflora

Plant Story--Beautiful Hardy Fuchsia, Fuchsia magellanica

They are beautiful flowers 

Fuchsia magellanica flowers

Fuchsias are a group of some 105 species, native mostly to South America, in the evening primrose family, Onagraceae. 

Plant Story--Evening Primroses, Beautiful Whereever You Meet Them

There are 145 species of evening primrose, Oenothera, 80 of them native to the United States.While there are more different species in western North America, the common evening primrose, Oenothera biennis, can be found in all but the Rocky Mountain states.

Evening primroses have big flowers. If you find them open after 7 am or before 7 pm, the flowers are likely yellow. Night-flowering species are often white and close in daylight, so if you are to see them open you need to go out in twilight, wander with a flashlight or get up early. On a cloudy morning they stay open longer, but the white species tend to grow in drier places, where cloudy mornings are less common.

An evening primrose seen in southern Wyoming.

Plant Story--Evening Primroses, Names and Relations

Evening primroses were one of the first midwestern wildflowers I learned. Partly because they are so spectacular

Missouri eveing primrose Oenothera missouriensis in the grassland

I quickly figured out they were not roses or primroses (more on that below). The evening primroses are some 145 species native to the Americas, in the genus Oenothera, in the evening primrose family, Onagraceae. The U.S.D.A. lists 80 species of Oenothera native to North America. With beautiful flowers!

Plant Story--Gaura coccinea, Oenothera suffructescens, Pretty Native Wildflowers

What is that little plant?

Across most of the United States you can find it growing on sandy, disturbed sites. 

It is Oenothera suffrutescens, formerly Gaura coccinea, scarlet gaura, also known as scarlet bee blossom, butterfly weed, scarlet butterfly weed, gray scarlet gaura, wild honeysuckle, waving butterfly and linda tarde. 

Scarlet gaura is native to central North America, from Manitoba south to central Mexico. In addition it has been introduced and has escaped from California to Maine (at least) that so it is pretty much continent-wide in North America. In California it is a noxious weed.