April 12: Showy evening primrose

Kind of a surprise, a nice one: in an ugly stretch of weedy grass between a metal building, a concrete wall topped by chain link fence, and some industrial air conditioning units, showy evening primrose have started flowering.


At the zoo April 26, 2010

They are members of the evening primrose family, obviously, but this variety opens with the sun and stays open all day, unless it rains. They're popular for wildflower plantings in highway margins because they thrive in poor soil. I'm always surprised by how large and delicate they seem, to be found in such tough environments.