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Common Name: Hooker's Evening Primrose

General Information

Oenothera elata hookeri is a Biennial/Perennial up to 0.80 metres tall.
It is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

North-western N. America.

Habitat

Dry open soils, meadows and roadsides[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Biennial/Perennial
Height	0.80 m
Pollinators	Lepidoptera, bees, Self
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

Prefers a dryish well-drained sandy loam and full sun. Heavy clay soils may induce winter rots. Succeeds on poor soils.
The flowers open in the evening, they are richly scented and are very attractive to moths. The seeds are a good food source for birds, especially finches.
Plants usually mutate freely.
This species is very closely related to, and perhaps no more than a part of, O. biennis[].

Edible Uses

Root - cooked. Boiled and eaten like parsnip[].
Young shoots - raw or cooked. Added to salads or boiled as a potherb[]. They are usually blanched before use[]. A mucilaginous texture.
The young pod-like fruits can be eaten when cooked[].

Medicinal

The plant has been used in the treatment of colds[].
A poultice of the roots or the leaves has been used in the treatment of sores and swellings[].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ from late spring to early summer.