Family: Onagraceae
Author: L.
Bibliography: Sp. Pl.: 346 (1753)
Year: 1753
Status: accepted
Rank: species
Genus: Oenothera
Vegetable: False
Observations: Canada to C. Mexico
Description
German-rampion, scientifically known as Oenothera biennis, is a notable species within the Onagraceae family. First described by the renowned botanist Carl Linnaeus, this plant was introduced in his seminal work, “Species Plantarum,” published in 1753.
German-rampion, also widely recognized as evening primrose, thrives across a broad geographic range extending from Canada to Central Mexico. This hardy biennial plant is renowned for its striking yellow flowers, which open at dusk and close by the next morning, a phenomenon that has captivated botanists and plant enthusiasts alike.
The plant typically grows in well-drained soils and is often found in open, sunny locations such as fields, roadsides, and disturbed areas. Its robust nature allows it to adapt to various environmental conditions, making it a common sight across its native range.
In addition to its visual appeal, Oenothera biennis holds significant ecological and medicinal value. It acts as a vital food source for various pollinators, including moths and bees, contributing to the health of local ecosystems. Furthermore, its seed oil, rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), has been used historically for its anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties, aiding in the treatment of various ailments such as eczema and rheumatoid arthritis.
Overall, German-rampion, or Oenothera biennis, is a plant of considerable interest due to its ecological benefits, medical applications, and fascinating growth habits. Its presence from Canada to Central Mexico exemplifies its adaptability and enduring significance in both natural and cultivated landscapes.
Common Names
Por: canárias, cirio-do-norte, erva-dos-burros, estrela-da-tarde, onográcea, prímula, zécora
Eng: common evening primrose, common evening-primrose, evening primose, evening-primrose, german-rampion, hoary eveningprimrose, hoary evening-primrose, king’s-cureall, candlestick, german rampion, king’s cureall, lesser evening primrose, wild evening-primrose, yellow evening-primrose
Lit: dvimetė nakviša
Ita: enagra commune
Deu: gemeine nachtkerze, gewöhnliche nachtkerze, hochwüchsige nachtkerze, zweijaehrige nachtkerze, zweijährige nachtkerze
Nld: middelste teunisbloem
Heb: ner-ha’layla ha’du-shnati, נר הלילה הדו שנתי
Fra: onagre bisannuelle, herbe aux ânes, onagre de victorin
Dan: toårig natlys
Lav: divgadīg
Spa: enotera, hierba del asno, hierba del vino, maravilla de perú, onagra
Est: kaheaastane kuningakepp
Swe: nattljus, pricknattljus, äkta nattljus, gulltrav, vanligt nattljus
Hun: parlagi ligetszépe
Ces: pupalka dvouletá
Cym: briallu yr hwyr, hwyr friallen lleiaf, melyn yr hwyr
En: German-rampion, Evening-primrose, Common evening-primrose, COMMON EVENINGPRIMROSE, KING’S-CUREALL, Common evening primrose, Evening primrose (common), Evening primose, Hoary evening-primrose, Hoary eveningprimrose, German rampion, Lesser Evening Primrose, Candlestick, King’s cureall, Wild evening-primrose, Yellow evening-primrose, Evening Primrose, Field Primrose, Tree Primrose
Ar: أخدرية محولة
Be: Асліннік двухгадовы
Ca: Bella de nit, Enotera groga
Zh: Yue jian cao, 月見草, 月见草
Hr: Noćurak
Cs: Pupalka dvouletá
Da: Toårig natlys
Nl: Middelste teunisbloem
Eo: Ordinara enotero
Et: Kaheaastane kuningakepp
Fi: Iltahelokki
Fr: Onagre bisannuelle, Herbe aux ânes, Onagre de Victorin
De: Gemeine Nachtkerze, Gewöhnliche Nachtkerze, Hochwüchsige Nachtkerze, Zweijaehrige Nachtkerze, Zweijährige Nachtkerze
He: Ner-ha’layla ha’du-shnati, נר הלילה הדו שנתי, נר-הלילה הדו-שנתי
Hu: Parlagi ligetszépe
Ga: Coinneal oíche
It: Enotera, Enagra commune, Enagra comune
Ja: Me-matsuyoigusa
Lv: Divgadīg
Lt: Dvimetė nakviša
Mk: Ноќниче
Fa: پامچال شب
Pl: Wiesiołek dwuletni
Pt: Canárias, Cirio-do-norte, Erva-dos-burros, Estrela-da-tarde, Onográcea, Prímula, Zécora
Ro: Luminiță
Ru: Oslennik dvuchletnyj, Ослинник двулетний
Sr: Ноћурак
Sk: Pupalka dvojročná
Es: Onagra común, Enotera, Hierba del asno, Hierba del vino, Maravilla de Perú, Onagra, Capa de san José
Sv: Pricknattljus, Nattljus, Äkta nattljus, Gulltrav, Vanligt nattljus
Zh-tw: 月見草
Tr: Eşek otu
Uk: Енотера дворічна
Cy: Melyn yr hwyr, Briallu yr Hwyr, Hwyr Friallen Lleiaf
Synonyms
- Oenothera brevicapsula (Bartlett)
- Oenothera compacta (Hudziok)
- Oenothera novae-scotiae var. serratifolia (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera mediomarchica (Hudziok)
- Oenothera pyramidiflora (Hudziok)
- Oenothera casimiri (Rostański)
- Oenothera chicaginensis var. bartlettii (Soldano)
- Oenothera pratincola (Bartlett)
- Oenothera biennis subsp. chicaginensis ((de Vries ex Renner & Cleland) Á.Löve & D.Löve)
- Onagra chrysantha var. latifolia (Spach)
- Oenothera pratincola var. numismatica ((Bartlett) R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera parviflora var. muricata ((L.) Farw.)
- Oenothera gauroides var. brevicapsula ((Bartlett) R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera muricata var. latifolia (Asch.)
- Oenothera marinellae (Soldano)
- Onagra europaea (Spach)
- Oenothera chicaginensis var. minutiflora (Rostański & V.Jehlik)
- Pseudo-oenothera virginiana (Rupr.)
- Oenothera biennis f. nanella (de Vries)
- Oenothera purpurata (Kleb.)
- Oenothera biennis var. sulphurea (de Vries ex Bartlett)
- Oenothera victorinii var. intermedia (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera beckeri (Renner)
- Oenothera cambrica var. impunctata (Rostański)
- Oenothera reynoldsii f. semialta (Bartlett)
- Oenothera tacikii (Rostański)
- Oenothera sackvillensis var. albiviridis (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera pycnocarpa var. parviflora (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera victorinii f. rostanskii ((V.Jehlík) V.Jehlík & Rostański)
- Onagra vulgaris (Spach)
- Oenothera furca (Boedijn)
- Oenothera grandiflora var. tracyi ((Bartlett) R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera stenomeres f. typica (Bartlett)
- Oenothera biennis var. lutea (Alef.)
- Oenothera muricata (L.)
- Oenothera stucchii (Soldano)
- Oenothera biennis subsp. caeciarum (Munz)
- Oenothera flaemingina (Hudziok)
- Oenothera biennis var. cantabrigiana (B.M.Davis)
- Onagra media ((Link) Spach)
- Oenothera paradoxa (Hudziok)
- Oenothera rostanskii (V.Jehlík)
- Oenothera grandifolia (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera latipetala ((Soldano) Soldano)
- Oenothera biennis f. leptomeres ((Bartlett) P.D.Sell)
- Oenothera biennis subsp. centralis (Munz)
- Oenothera biennis subsp. suaveolens ((Pers.) Rouy & E.G.Camus)
- Oenothera pubescens (Nees)
- Oenothera muricata var. rhodoneura (Renner)
- Oenothera graveolens (Gilib.)
- Oenothera rubiella (de Vries)
- Oenothera paralamarckiana (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera rubiennis (de Vries)
- Oenothera suaveolens var. latipetala (Soldano)
- Oenothera inconspecta (Hudziok)
- Oenothera ruderalis (Bartlett)
- Oenothera editicaulis (Hudziok)
- Oenothera biennis subsp. rubricaulis ((Kleb.) Stomps)
- Oenothera sesitensis (Soldano)
- Oenothera chicaginensis var. parviflora (Renner)
- Oenothera cambrica (Rostański)
- Oenothera victorinii (R.R.Gates & Catches.)
- Oenothera nuda (Renner ex Rostański)
- Oenothera chicagoensis (Renner ex R.E.Cleland & Blakeslee)
- Oenothera sackvillensis (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera pycnocarpa var. cleistogama (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera macrosperma ((Hudziok) Hudziok)
- Onosuris acuminata (Raf.)
- Oenothera biennis var. leptomeres (Bartlett)
- Oenothera biennis var. rubricaulis ((Farw.) Farw.)
- Oenothera wratislaviensis (Rostański)
- Oenothera communis (H.Lév.)
- Oenothera shulliana (A.H.Sturtev.)
- Oenothera stenomeres (Bartlett)
- Oenothera biennis var. alba (Alef.)
- Oenothera biennis f. muricata ((L.) H.Lév. ex Thell.)
- Oenothera biennis subsp. biennis (Thell.)
- Oenothera nissensis (Rostański)
- Oenothera punctulata (Rostański & Gutte)
- Oenothera royfraseri (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera pedemontana (Soldano)
- Oenothera octolineata (Hudziok)
- Oenothera biennis var. muricata ((L.) Torr. & A.Gray)
- Oenothera chicaginensis (de Vries ex Renner & Cleland)
- Oenothera communis f. canescens (H.Lév.)
- Oenothera tracyi (Bartlett)
- Oenothera turoviensis (Rostański)
- Oenothera rubricaulis var. longistylis (Gutte & Rostański)
- Oenothera salicastrum (de Vries)
- Oenothera muricata var. rubricaulis (Farw.)
- Oenothera rubricaulis var. dentifolia (V.Jehlík & Rostański)
- Oenothera jueterbogensis (Hudziok)
- Oenothera sabulosa (Farw.)
- Oenothera victorinii var. undulata (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera pycnocarpa (G.F.Atk. & Bartlett)
- Oenothera biennis var. vulgaris (Torr. & A.Gray)
- Oenothera biennis var. pycnocarpa ((G.F.Atk. & Bartlett) Wiegand)
- Brunyera biennis (Bubani)
- Oenothera numismatica (Bartlett)
- Oenothera rubricauloides (Rostański)
- Onagra biennis ((L.) Scop.)
- Oenothera media (Link)
- Oenothera glabra (Mill.)
- Oenothera brevispicata (Hudziok)
- Oenothera pratincola f. typica (Bartlett)
- Oenothera obscurifolia (Hudziok)
- Oenothera reynoldsii (Bartlett)
- Oenothera ersteinensis (H.P.Linder & Jean)
- Oenothera pellegrinii (Soldano)
- Onagra muricata ((L.) Moench)
- Oenothera indivisa (Hudziok)
- Oenothera biennis subsp. grandiflora (Stomps)
- Oenothera communis f. suaveolens ((Pers.) H.Lév.)
- Oenothera suaveolens (Pers.)
- Oenothera biennis var. angustifolia (Renner)
- Oenothera rubricaulis (Kleb.)
- Oenothera nissensis var. fiedleri (Gutte & Rostański)
- Oenothera jueterbogensis var. macrosperma (Hudziok)
- Oenothera carinthiaca (Rostański)
- Oenothera victorinii var. parviflora (R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera reynoldsii f. typica (Bartlett)
- Oenothera sackvillensis var. royfraseri ((R.R.Gates) R.R.Gates)
- Oenothera hirtella (de Vries)
- Oenothera gauroides (Hornem.)
- Oenothera biennis var. parviflora (Abrom.)
Distribution
- Alabama (native)
- Alberta (native)
- Arkansas (native)
- British Columbia (native)
- California (native)
- Connecticut (native)
- Delaware (native)
- District of Columbia (native)
- Florida (native)
- Georgia (native)
- Idaho (native)
- Illinois (native)
- Indiana (native)
- Iowa (native)
- Kansas (native)
- Kentucky (native)
- Louisiana (native)
- Maine (native)
- Manitoba (native)
- Maryland (native)
- Masachusettes (native)
- Mexico Central (native)
- Mexico Northeast (native)
- Michigan (native)
- Minnesota (native)
- Mississippi (native)
- Missouri (native)
- Montana (native)
- Nebraska (native)
- Nevada (native)
- New Brunswick (native)
- New Hampshire (native)
- New Jersey (native)
- New York (native)
- North Carolina (native)
- North Dakota (native)
- Nova Scotia (native)
- Ohio (native)
- Oklahoma (native)
- Ontario (native)
- Oregon (native)
- Pennsylvania (native)
- Prince Edward I. (native)
- Québec (native)
- Rhode I. (native)
- Saskatchewan (native)
- South Carolina (native)
- South Dakota (native)
- Tennessee (native)
- Texas (native)
- Vermont (native)
- Virginia (native)
- Washington (native)
- West Virginia (native)
- Wisconsin (native)
- Albania (introduced)
- Algeria (introduced)
- Altay (introduced)
- Amur (introduced)
- Argentina Northeast (introduced)
- Argentina Northwest (introduced)
- Austria (introduced)
- Baltic States (introduced)
- Bangladesh (introduced)
- Belarus (introduced)
- Belgium (introduced)
- Brazil South (introduced)
- Bulgaria (introduced)
- Buryatiya (introduced)
- Canary Is. (introduced)
- Cape Provinces (introduced)
- Central European Rus (introduced)
- Chile Central (introduced)
- China North-Central (introduced)
- China South-Central (introduced)
- China Southeast (introduced)
- Colorado (introduced)
- Corse (introduced)
- Czechoslovakia (introduced)
- Denmark (introduced)
- East European Russia (introduced)
- Ethiopia (introduced)
- Finland (introduced)
- France (introduced)
- Free State (introduced)
- Germany (introduced)
- Great Britain (introduced)
- Greece (introduced)
- Hawaii (introduced)
- Hungary (introduced)
- Inner Mongolia (introduced)
- Iran (introduced)
- Ireland (introduced)
- Irkutsk (introduced)
- Italy (introduced)
- Japan (introduced)
- Kazakhstan (introduced)
- Khabarovsk (introduced)
- Kirgizstan (introduced)
- Korea (introduced)
- Krasnoyarsk (introduced)
- Krym (introduced)
- Kuril Is. (introduced)
- KwaZulu-Natal (introduced)
- Lesotho (introduced)
- Madeira (introduced)
- Manchuria (introduced)
- Morocco (introduced)
- Myanmar (introduced)
- Netherlands (introduced)
- New Mexico (introduced)
- Newfoundland (introduced)
- Northern Provinces (introduced)
- Northwest European R (introduced)
- Norway (introduced)
- Palestine (introduced)
- Poland (introduced)
- Portugal (introduced)
- Primorye (introduced)
- Romania (introduced)
- Rwanda (introduced)
- Sakhalin (introduced)
- Sicilia (introduced)
- South European Russi (introduced)
- Spain (introduced)
- Sweden (introduced)
- Switzerland (introduced)
- Tadzhikistan (introduced)
- Taiwan (introduced)
- Tasmania (introduced)
- Transcaucasus (introduced)
- Tunisia (introduced)
- Turkey-in-Europe (introduced)
- Ukraine (introduced)
- Uzbekistan (introduced)
- West Himalaya (introduced)
- West Siberia (introduced)
- Yugoslavia (introduced)
Additional Images
Flower
Taken Sep 3, 2019 by Manu Pacha (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 15, 2019 by Manu Pacha (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 15, 2019 by Manu Pacha (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 12, 2019 by Manu Pacha (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 7, 2019 by rex rex (cc-by-sa)
© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Fruit
Taken Sep 8, 2017 by Tara Conler (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 12, 2019 by pepe pepeman (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 12, 2019 by Manu Pacha (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 12, 2019 by Manu Pacha (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 15, 2019 by Manu Pacha (cc-by-sa)
Leaf
Taken Aug 31, 2020 by Silvia Silvia (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 22, 2022 by David Hocken (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 22, 2022 by David Hocken (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 4, 2019 by Manu Pacha (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 12, 2019 by Manu Pacha (cc-by-sa)
Habit
Taken Dec 16, 2021 by Kai Best (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 13, 2017 by Craig Anttila (cc-by-sa)
Taken Oct 8, 2022 by Kai Best (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 22, 2022 by David Hocken (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 22, 2022 by David Hocken (cc-by-sa)
Other
Taken Aug 2, 2021 by Erich 🦅 (cc-by-sa)
Taken Oct 13, 2019 by André Hyvrier (cc-by-sa)
Taken Sep 22, 2019 by Pietro Brignoli (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 21, 2019 by Артем Артем (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 4, 2021 by John Thompson (cc-by-sa)
Bark
Taken Aug 13, 2018 by Catherine Bouvard (cc-by-sa)
Taken Oct 29, 2022 by Shiva Moqan (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jun 22, 2020 by DanyaDraiwer (cc-by-sa)
Taken Sep 28, 2017 by Tara Conler (cc-by-sa)
Taken Aug 27, 2022 by Shiva Moqan (cc-by-sa)
Sources
- WFO (No URL)
- IPNI (No URL)
- GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/species/3188924)
- POWO (http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:172755-2)
- PlantNet (https://identify.plantnet.org/species/the-plant-list/Oenothera biennis L.)
Specifications
Growth form: Single Crown
Growth habit: Forb/herb
Growth rate: Rapid
Growth
Ph maximum: 7.0
Ph minimum: 5.0
Light: 8
Atmospheric humidity: 4
Soil nutriments: 4
