Botanical name: Oenothera biennis      
Folk names: Fever plant

Type: Biennial

Wildlife: Nectar attracts night-flying moths and bees on the wing in early morning.  

Flowers: June to September

Decorative merit: Yellow flowers on top of tall stems up to 90cm with narrow strap-shaped leaves. Two to six flowers open on a stem at any one time in succession in the evening.

Where: Sun. Free-draining soil in borders or wilder patches. Its deep root makes it a helpful, drought-tolerant plant. Have it close / in the eyeline of where you sit in the evening.

Folklore: Introduced to the Padua Botanic Garden in Italy, from North America, in the early 1700s and has naturalised to become a common plant in much of Europe. Do you have any stories about evening primrose?

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