Practical
Plants

Oenothera brevipes

Golden Suncup

an annual member of the Oenothera genus in the family Onagraceae.

No photo available

Taxonomy and growth

Life cycle
annual
Height
0.3 m
Fertility
Self fertile, Lepidoptera, Bees, Self
Flower type
hermaphrodite
Pollinators
Lepidoptera, Bees, Self

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Seed.[2][3][6]. No more details are given, but the seed is rather small and its use would be very fiddly. Seedpod[5]. No more details are given. Root - cooked. Too small to be a staple food, but useful in an emergency, the roots taste best in late autumn, winter and early spring[5]. Leaves and young shoots - cooked[5].

Plant part
Leaves
Plant part
Root
Plant part
Seed
Plant part
Seedpod

Environment

Range
South-western N. America - California.
Habitat
Dry slopes and washes below 1500 metres[7].
Light
full sun
Shade tolerance
no shade
Water
moderate
Soil textures
sandy, loamy
Soil pH
acid, neutral, alkaline
Drainage
well drained
Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
No
Drought
intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

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

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

We have very little information on this species and are not sure if it will succeed outdoors in Britain, though it is worth trying as a spring sown annual. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Prefers a dryish well-drained sandy loam and full sun[1][4]. Heavy clay soils may induce winter rots[4]. Succeeds in poor soils. The flowers open in the evening, they are richly scented and are very attractive to moths.

References

  1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

    ↩

  2. Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976-00-00

    ↩

  3. Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.

    ↩

  4. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2

  5. Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980-00-00 ISBN 0-449-90589-6

    ↩1↩2↩3

  6. Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9

    ↩

  7. Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959-00-00

    ↩

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