BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Oenothera biennis
common evening-primrose
| Scientific Name: | Oenothera biennis L. | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | common evening-primrose | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Vascular Plant | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | OENOBIE | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (May 2024) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | SNA (Apr 2019) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Exotic | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 4 - Secure (2010) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Technical Description: | |||||||||||
| Similar Species: | |||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | Oenothera biennis grows in "open, disturbed sites," including "fields, pastures, roadsides" (FNA 2021, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Elevation (m) (min / max): | Provincial: | ||||||||||
| Known Pests: | |||||||||||
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| Pollinator: | |||||||||||
| Dispersal: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Inventory | |||||||||||
| Inventory Priority: | |||||||||||
| Ownership of occurrences (Known locations): | |||||||||||
| Inventory Need: | |||||||||||
| Economic Attributes | |||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | Oenothera biennis occurs nearly worldwide in temperate and subtropical regions (FNA 2021). Its native range includes North America from Nova Scotia west to Alberta in Canada south to Florida west to California in the United States, and Mexico and Europe, and it has been introduced in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. | ||||||||||
| Disjunct, more common elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Peripheral, major distribution elsewhere: | |||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | Soteropoulos (2024) | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | May 27, 2024 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| Last Literature Search: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2021. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 10. Magnoliophyta: Proteaceae to Elaeagnaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 456 pp. |
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Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2024. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of March 4, 2024. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2203 pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2024. Species Summary: Oenothera biennis. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Oct 7, 2026).