EVENING PRIMROSE

Evening Primrose, Oenothera odorata, Oenothera striata, is an erect herb with a basal rosette of long, narrow leaves and a leafy spike with showy flowers. The flowers are up to 80 mm across and yellow, opening in the evening, becoming tinged with red and withering the following day. The flowers are up to 10 cm across with a slender tube, 4 large spreading petals and 8 stamens. The fruit is long and slender. The stem is up to 1 m tall and lacks the prominent red spots present on some other species. It has a tuberous rootstock.
Native to South America, it is a common roadside weed and flowers for much of the year with a flush in spring.

Common evening-primrose (Oenothera stricta subsp. stricta) is regarded as an environmental weed in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

Widely naturalised in southern, central and eastern Australia (i.e. in southern Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, south-western and southern Western Australia, and the southern and central parts of the Northern Territory). Also naturalised on Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island.

Spray FireHawk Bioherbicide Concentrate: 50 mL/L of water. Respray when regrowth occurs from roots and/or runners. May require repeated application to obtain long-term weed control.