Backyard Prairie Flower ID of the week:
Oenothera speciosa Nutt.(Evening-Primrose Family)
Common name; Pink evening primrose.Pink ladies, Pink buttercups
An upright to sprawling of approx. 1 1/2 ft. perennial, which spreads to form grand swaths across the prairie. Its large, four-petaled flowers, solitary from its leaf axils, range in color from dark pink to white. As the common name implies, most evening primrose species open their flowers in the evening, closing them again early each morning.
The flowers of some members of the genus open in the evening so rapidly that the movement can almost be observed. Pink evening primrose populations in the southern part of its natural range, however, open their flowers in the morning and close them each evening. To further complicate matters, populations in the northern parts of its range tend to open in the evening. And there is a yellow variety as well.
Backyard Prairie Flower ID of the week: