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Evening primrose family
Onagraceae
アカバナ科
A family including willowherb (Epilobium), evening primrose (Oenothera biennis), and Circaea. About 22 genera and 650 species are distributed from temperate to tropical regions. Characterized by a stigma that splits into a cross shape and pollen grains connected by viscin threads.
Key Characteristics
- ●Flowers are basically tetramerous (4 petals, 4 sepals, 8 stamens)
- ●Stigma is often cross-shaped (4-lobed)
- ●Pollen grains are connected by viscin threads
- ●Fruit is a capsule or berry
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite / Whorled
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Entire
Growth form
Shrub / Tree / Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Present / Absent
Aromatic
Aromatic
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic / Zygomorphic
Petal count
4 petals / 5 petals / 6 petals / Many
Ovary position
Inferior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
1-2
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite / Monoecious
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Myrtales > Onagraceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene (about 60–50 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Adaptation to hawkmoth pollination through night-blooming flowers (genus Oenothera)
- ・Efficient pollination through evolution of viscin threads connecting pollen grains
Plants in Evening primrose family on this site
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