Evening primrose - Oenothera tetraptera

Japanese: ツキミソウ(月見草) - ツキミソウ（英語表記）Oenothera tetraptera

A perennial plant of the Onagraceae family, native to Mexico. It grows to a height of around 50cm and is covered with fine hairs. The leaves are alternate, lanceolate, and have irregular, deep sawtooth edges. In summer, large white flowers bloom in the leaf axils. They open in the evening, wilt, and turn red the next morning. There are four petals, each about 3cm long and broadly obcortical with a concave tip. The ovary is subordinate, the style protrudes high above the flower, and the stigma is divided into four. The capsule is obovate and splits vertically into four. This species was introduced to Japan around the Kaei era (1848-1854) and was cultivated for ornamental purposes, but is rarely seen today. What is commonly referred to as evening primrose today are different species of the same genus that all have yellow flowers that later turn red, including evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), Oenothera gracilis (Oenothera oenothera), Oenothera arechia (Oenothera biennis), and Oenothera biennis (Oenothera biennis).

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

アカバナ科の多年草で，メキシコ原産。草丈 50cm内外，全体は細かい毛でおおわれる。葉は互生し，披針形で，不整の深い鋸歯がある。夏，葉腋に大きな白い花をつける。夕方開き翌朝しぼんで紅変する。花弁は4枚あり，長さ 3cmほどで先端がへこんだ広い倒心臓形をしている。子房は下位につき花柱は高く花の上に突出し，柱頭は4つに分れる。蒴果は倒卵形で，縦に4裂する。本種は嘉永年間 (1848～54) 頃に渡来し，観賞用に栽培されたが現在ではほとんどみられない。今日一般にツキミソウといわれるものは，いずれも黄色でのちに紅変する花をつける同属の別種でマツヨイグサ (待宵草)，オオマツヨイグサ (大待宵草)，アレチマツヨイグサ，メマツヨイグサなどである。

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