Bee Plant of the Month: Evening Primrose : 17 BEE PLANT OF THE MONTH
Evening Primrose
Bridget Beattie, PhD, NDB T
he majestic evening primrose provides pollen for honey bees when it flowers from early summer into September. Sometimes it may also be visited by bumblebees (Bombus spp) and mining bees (Andrena spp). Goldfi nches eat its seeds and the foliage is food for beetles an d the caterpillars of moths. Found in the same family are the willowherbs, fuchsias and the rare Hampshire purslane. The three species of evening primrose commonly found in the British Isles are diffi cult to determine as they readily hybridise.
Widely Naturalised
Although a native of North America and not the British Isles, this biennial herb is widely naturalised here and in most temperate and subtropical regions of the world. It is known by quite a few common names including German-rampion, King’s cure-all, evening star, suncups and sundrops, scabish, scurvish and wild four o’clock.
Growth
Growing to a height of up to 150 cm, it has lanceolate (lance-shaped) to elliptical (widest in the middle, up to three times as long as wide) leaves, 5–20 cm long and 1–2.5 cm wide. In the fi rst year they appear as a rosette, in the second year developing spirally up a downy stem.
The bowl-shaped fragrant fl owers are 2.5–5 cm wide on a tall spike. They appear in succession in the evening, lasting only until the following morning. They have four bi-
September 2016 Vol 98 No 9
lobed yellow petals, 15–30 mm, wider than their length, with nectar guides which may only be seen by humans under ultra-violet light. They are hermaphrodite and the female style is more or less the same length as the male fi laments, a feature distinguishing it from other species. Furthermore, the petals are said to glow in the dark.
Pollen
The pollen grains are very large at 130 µm. They are triangular with three pores (triporate) and a smooth to slightly granular surface. In cross section the exine is of medium thickness with spaced rods or beads. They are bound together by yellow strands of viscin, a sticky substance. Sometimes the threads can be seen on pollen-collectors’ legs. The fl owers are pollinated only by insects which are morphologically specialised to collect these pollen grains, which include some moths, butterfl ies and bees; many bee species cannot pollinate evening primroses. The 2–4 cm long fruit is a capsule which contains many seeds, each 1–2 mm in length. These are released when the capsule matures and splits into four sections and they can remain viable for many years.
Cultivation
Grow in full sun or partial shade in a sheltered, south- or west-facing aspect in well-drained, moderately fertile loam or sandy soil, although they do well in poor soil too. Propagate from seed early in the summer to give a fi ne display in fl ower beds and borders and in wildfl ower meadows. Cut back after fl owering in the second year when, as a biennial, the plant will die off.
Nomenclature
The genus name comes from the Latin oenothera which means ‘a plant whose juices may cause sleep’ and the species epithet biennis means lasting two years.
Dietary Supplement
Evening primrose seeds contain gamma- linoleic acid (GLA) and the extracted oil is marketed as a dietary supplement, widely believed to relieve uncomfortable symptoms in ladies of a certain age, but the research literature is somewhat sceptical about its effi cacy. Sorry, girls …
The nineteenth-century English poet John Clare wrote:
When once the sun sinks in the west, And dewdrops pearl the evening’s breast;
Almost as pale as moonbeams are, Or its companionable star, The evening primrose opes anew Its delicate blossoms to the dew; And, hermit-like, shunning the light, Wastes its fair bloom upon the night, Who, blindfold to its fond caresses, Knows not the beauty it possesses; Thus it blooms on while night is by; When day looks out with open eye, Bashed at the gaze it cannot shun, It faints and withers and is gone.
Fact File:
Evening primrose Oenothera biennis Family: Onagraceae
Apimondia Gold Medal for Popular Beekeeping Journals, 2007, 2013 and 2015
www.bee-craft.com
Pleple 200
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