Evening Primrose and Common Fumitory

Evening Primrose (Oenothera)

Colour photograph of the Evening Primrose (Oenothera) wild flower found on the grassland dunes of Bull Island, Dublin.

By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Evening Primrose (Oenothera)
By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Evening Primrose (Oenothera)

Colour photograph of the Evening Primrose (Oenothera) wild flower found on the grassland dunes of Bull Island, Dublin.

By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Enlarge image

EVENING PRIMROSE (Oenothera)

Evening primrose is a garden escape that is well established in other Irish dune areas but has only been seen in recent years on the Bull Island near the Interpretive Centre.
 

It has a stout stem from 40-80 cm high covered in short reddish-based hairs, giving it a bristly look. The spiral short-stalked lanceolate leaves are up to 25 cm long, faintly toothed, with a reddish midrib.
 

Flowers are in a loose spike near the stem top. The four bright yellow slightly heart-shaped petals open abruptly at dusk to about 50 mm across, giving off a scent attractive to pollinating moths. There are four long pointed green sepals that bend down and 8 yellow stamens.
 

Fruit is a 35 mm tapered capsule that splits into four, releasing the many seeds.
 

Flowers: June-Sept.

Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis)

Colour photograph of the Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis) wild flower found on the grassland dunes of Bull Island, Dublin.

By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis)
By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis)

Colour photograph of the Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis) wild flower found on the grassland dunes of Bull Island, Dublin.

By kind permission of Dorothy Forde

Enlarge image

COMMON FUMITORY (Fumaria officinalis)

This tall feathery-looking plant can be found in the dune grassland along the golf course fencerow. Its deeply divided stalked pinnate leaves are bluish-green and alternately arranged.
 

The stalked flower spike is about 9 mm long and contains from 10-20 flowers in a loose spike.
 

There are two short sepals enclosing four long petals closely joined in a tubular shape. They are a pinkish-purple colour ending in deep red tips.
 

Fruits are globular unopened capsules about 2mm in size.
 

Flowers: June-Sept.

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