A family of some 650 herbs or shrubs, usually with four-petalled flowers, found in temperate and sub-tropical regions. Well developed in North America. Four species are native to Western Australia and probably at least 12 naturalised. There are two nativeEpilobium(willowherb) species in Western Australia, and two introduced ones, both growing to about 50cm tall. They can be distinguished by their cylindrical fruiting capsules; in the introduced species the capsule is over 6cm long while in the native species it is less than 5cm. E. ciliatum is an erect, sticky-hairy perennial with pink flowers about 1cm across, with deeply lobed petals, and a capsule up to 8cm long. A garden weed, it is also found in wetlands at Yanchep. Native to America. E. tetragonum (square-stalked willowherb) is also a perennial. It has a rosette of leaves from which squarish stems arise. It may be softly hairy, but not sticky. It has pink flowers and a capsule up to 10cm long. Found at Wanneroo and on sandy soils on the Murray delta islands. Native to Eurasia. Willowherbs, not distinguished by species, are frequent weeds of horticultural crops around Perth.
Fuchsia magellanica(fuchsia) is an unmistakable shrub with hanging scarlet and purple flowers. It has escaped from gardens into overgrown areas around Denmark and Albany. Native to South America.
Epilobium
ciliatum
, RR
The bright yellow flowers, which may turn reddish as they age, of Oenothera (evening primrose) are a familiar sight on roadsides around Perth and throughout the south-west. Most species originate from America and there are about 80 species. At least eight are naturalised here, but their taxonomy is somewhat confused. New species have been noted and hybrids may also occur. O. affinis is a softly-hairy branching biennial found occasionally on the Coastal Plain south of Perth. It has yellow flowers, arranged in a spike, 8cm across, with a floral tube up to 9.5cm long, opening in the evening. Flowers in summer. Native to South America.
Oenothera sp.,
PH
O. drummondii (beach evening primrose) is a slightly woody, sprawling, grey-hairy perennial, with lemon-yellow flowers 10cm across and a floral tube 3cm long. It is found from Jurien Bay to Bunbury, and is especially common and widespread in the Metropolitan area, favouring coastal areas and along roadsides. Flowers throughout the year, but mostly in spring and early summer. Native to North America.
Oenothera drummondii
, GK
O. glazioviana (tall evening primrose) is a biennial, producing a flat rosette of leaves in the first year and several leafy flowering stalks to 1.6m in the second. It is reddish-hairy, with yellow flowers up to 10 cm across and a floral tube up to 9.5cm long. Common along roadsides and wasteland in the Metropolitan area, and also found on roadsides between Perth, Albany and Manjimup. Flowers in early summer. Probably native to Europe. A somewhat similar, tall, upright plant, O. sp., with a floral tube up to 11cm long and flowering in March, is common around Midland. O. indecora (small-flower evening primrose) is a softly-hairy erect annual with branched, leafy stems to 60cm. Flowers 2cm across with a floral tube about 1cm long. Occasionally found on roadsides around Perth. Flowers in spring. Native to South America. O. laciniata is a low sprawling plant, seldom more than 20cm high but may attain over 1m in diameter. It has greyish-hairy lobed leaves and yellow flowers about 1cm across held upright above the leaves. Flowers in early summer. Found on roadsides in the Metropolitan area. Native to North America.
O.
glazioviana
, PH
O. mollissima is a very softly-hairy, dome-shaped woody shrub up to 1m high with linear leaves. After rain or dew, the whole plant becomes sticky-wet to the touch. Small yellow flowers are produced in spring and summer. Found from Perth to Bunbury, often on calcareous soils. Native to South America. O. speciosa is a perennial, spreading from underground runners and persisting at settlement sites around Perth and Northam. The lower leaves are pinnately lobed. The flowering stems grow to 30cm high bearing flowers up to 8cm across, white or, more usually, pink. Native to Central America.
O.
mollissima
, PH
O. stricta (common evening primrose) is widespread on roadsides and paddock margins from Gingin to Esperance and inland to Lake King, and is currently being tested as a pasture species on poor sandy soils. An upright annual with dark green leaves, often with a prominent white midrib, it produces several erect stems that carry bright yellow flowers 8cm across, in spring. Native to South America.
O.
stricta
, PH
An as yet unidentified species, O. sp., is found on roadsides between Perth and Mount Barker. It is an erect, branched annual, with flowers 1.2cm across and floral tubes up to 4cm long.
Oenothera sp.,
PH
