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	©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California Print edition is available from the University of California Press

	The second edition of The Jepson Manual (2012) is available from the University of California Press
	See also the Jepson eFlora, which parallels the Second Edition

ONAGRACEAE

EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY

Warren L. Wagner, except as specified Peter H. Raven, Family Coordinator

Annual to tree
Leaves basal or cauline, alternate, opposite, or whorled, generally simple and toothed (to pinnately compound); stipules 0 or generally deciduous
Inflorescence: spike, raceme, panicle, or flowers solitary in axils; bracted
Flower generally bisexual, generally radial, opening at dawn or dusk; hypanthium sometimes prolonged beyond ovary (measured from ovary tip to sepal base); sepals generally 4(2–7); petals generally 4 (or as many as sepals, rarely 0), often "fading" darker; stamens generally 4 or 8(2), anthers 2-chambered, opening lengthwise, pollen generally interconnected by threads; ovary inferior, chambers generally 4 (sometimes becoming 1), placentas axile or parietal, ovules 1–many per chamber, style 1, stigma 4-lobed (or lobes as many as sepals), club-shaped, or hemispheric
Fruit: capsule, loculicidal (sometimes berry or indehiscent and nut-like)
Seeds sometimes winged or hair-tufted
Genera in family: 15 genera, ± 650 species: worldwide, especially w North America; many cultivated (Clarkia, Epilobium, Fuchsia, Gaura, Oenothera )
Reference: [Munz 1965 North America Fl II 5:1–278]

GAURA

Annual, biennial, perennial herb, from woody caudex, rhizome, or taproot
Leaves basal and cauline, alternate, sessile; margin generally wavy-dentate
Inflorescence: spike, terminal, bracted
Flower generally bilateral, opening at dusk or dawn; sepals generally 4, generally widely opening; petals generally 4, white or yellow, often fading reddish or purplish; stamens 8, filaments generally with paired teeth at base, anthers attached at middle; ovary chambers generally 4 (in fruit 1), stigma deeply lobed, generally elevated above anthers (plant then cross-pollinated)
Fruit indehiscent, ± erect, nut-like, generally 4-angled or -winged; walls woody; base stalk-like or not
Seeds generally 3–4, generally 2–3 mm, ovoid, generally flat-sided, yellowish to pale brown
Species in genus: 21 species: temp North America (especially TX), C.Am
Etymology: (Greek: proud, from showy flowers of some)
Reference: [Raven & Gregory 1972 Mem Torrey Bot Club 23:1–96]

Introduced

G. drummondii (Spach) Torr. & A. Gray

Perennial, forming large mats, rhizomed; minutely strigose and generally with long, spreading hairs
Stems 1–several, 2–6(12) cm
Leaf 5–95 mm, narrowly lanceolate to elliptic, subentire to shallowly and coarsely wavy-dentate
Inflorescence: bracts 2–8 mm
Flower: hypanthium 4–14 mm; sepals 7–14 mm; petals 6–10 mm
Fruit erect, 7–13 mm, ovate, 4-angled; stalk-like base short and thick, ± 1/4 diam of widest part, with a conspicuous, abrupt bulge near middle
Seeds 2–8, 2–2.5 mm
Chromosomes: 2n=28
Ecology: Cult fields
Elevation: < 300 m.
Bioregional distribution: Central Western California, Southwestern California
Distribution outside California: native c Texas to c Mexico
Synonyms: G. odorata Lag. misapplied
Weedy.