Longstem evening primrose (Oenothera longissima) and Hooker’s evening primrose (Oenothera elata hirsutissima) are tall leafy plants (up to six feet tall) that flash color late in the summer. From late July and onward you can often find yellow flowers with heart-shaped petals at the very top of these plants. Look for evening primrose in wetter areas within Calico Basin, Pine Creek, First Creek, and other spring drainages. The seeds of Hooker’s evening primrose were collected and grounded into a meal and either eaten raw or toasted by Natives. The plant was named after William Jackson Hooker, a botanist in the 1800s that ran gardens and established the Journal of Botany in America.

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