evening primrose

American  

noun

1. a plant, Oenothera biennis, having yellow flowers that open at nightfall.

2. any of various plants of the same or related genera.

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evening primrose British  

noun

1. any onagraceous plant of the genus Oenothera , native to North America but widely cultivated and naturalized, typically having yellow flowers that open in the evening

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Etymology

Origin of evening primrose

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

evening primrose

The desert sunflowers, purple sand verbena and white dune evening primrose were spectacular.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2024

At field sites in eastern Washington, the researchers collected scent samples from pale evening primrose flowers.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 8, 2024

Compounds called nitrate radicals, which can be abundant in nighttime urban air, severely degrade the scent emitted by the pale evening primrose, reducing visits from pollinating hawk moths, researchers reported in Science on Thursday.

From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

Mexican evening primrose is a beautiful pink-flowering ground cover that is still sold in garden centers and nurseries, but it is also extremely invasive.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 23, 2023

Some fallow fields were covered with thistles, docks, fire-weed and stately mulleins, with, here and there, an evening primrose, one or two of which the lawyer inserted in his flower-press.

From Two Knapsacks A Novel of Canadian Summer Life by Campbell, John