Here’s a close-up of a plant I recently showed you and labeled as either Mexican or Evening Primrose. My excuse
for not knowing (and Readers, do I really need one?) is its origin in my garden as a passalong from a neighbor. But more will be revealed.
Friday night we Hort Clubbers enjoyed a private tour of the garden of Kevin Conrad, Curator of the Woody Plants Collection at the National Arboretum. I was bad and didn’t snap lots of fabulous photos for you but I did take action when I saw this plant in his garden. When I asked Kevin to solve the mystery - Mexican or Evening - he replied, "Neither. It’s a Missouri Primrose." Aha, I think, I’ll run home and report the results.
Trouble is, a quick Internet search for the Latin name revealed the expert to be mistaken. I knew this right away because the Missouri Primose, Oenothera missouriensis, is yellow, not pink like the Mexican Evening Primrose (O. berlandieri) we were looking at. Kinda unsettling, I know. And his garden was filled with really cool plants and he was cute, too. I’ll just file it away under Don’t Believe Everything an Expert Says or Writes, subfolder Verbal.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Sandy 05.22.06 at 10:47 am
Thank goodness for Google. It is just impossible for someone to know it all:).
Nancy 05.22.06 at 3:31 pm
I liked your compromise! Not “Mexican” OR “evening” primrose, but “Mexican evening primrose”! We call it that here in Phoenix too, though it is not an evening bloomer…
Nancy
Ali 05.22.06 at 4:31 pm
I’ve heard these called Pink Ladies, and I do believe they are in the Missouri primrose family.
Pam J. 05.24.06 at 9:38 am
Yesteday I saw this plant at my local nursery and it was labeled “showy primrose.” So to cover all bases you could call it the MAPLES primrose (Mexican-American Pink Lady Evening Showy primrose).
M Sinclair Stevens (Texas) 05.26.06 at 10:23 pm
Down here we call it pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa) and, boy, can it take over a garden.
I never heard the other names until I googled it.
http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio406d/images/pics/ona/oenothera_speciosa.htm