Yellow Evening Primrose

Left image
Close up of Yellow Evening Primrose flower.

Right image
Cluster of Yellow Evening Primrose flowers.
Credit: NPS photo by Nancy Julian

Yellow Evening Primrose - Oenothera flava

Yellow Evening Primrose can be found bordering ponds and streams and in moist meadows, often in disturbed areas along roads and trails. Like other members of its family, it has only four petals which distinguish it from many other plants. The petals form a long tube that flares into four parts.

Another common characteristic of many evening primroses is that flowers only last a day and often change color to orange or pink as they wither. Its foliage often resembles that of the dandelion, unfortunately a very common weed along the roads at Cedar Breaks. This is a widely dispersed species and occurs from southern Canada to New Mexico and Texas from midelevation Sagebrush to subalpine Spruce-Fir communities.