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!

Nasty Plants: Some are Spiny, Thorny and Prickly

Wow! Spines!

A spine-covered cactus!

I agreed to speak about "nasty plants" at Farr Regional Library in Greeley on March 22, so this week I began looking for photos to use. And quickly came up with 100. Literally.

Lots of plants are nasty.

Usually when plants are nasty, they are saying to animals "BACK OFF!"

Take the plant's eye view. You are growing happily in the sunshine and then some animal walks over and bites your top off.