Long Flower Beeblossom
Oenothera filiformis
Found in glades, prairies, woodlands, shell middens and calcareous hammocks, openings in bottomland forests, disturbed areas, especially over calcareous soils. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 12 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Part shade
- Soil moisture
- Dry to moist
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual, biennial or perennial
- Bloom
- July to September
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 11 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Habitats
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; prairies and grasslands; forests and woodlands; Coastal Plain hammocks; floodplain and bottomland forests; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
21CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Oenothera
- Amphion floridensisNessus Sphinx
- Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
- Atroposia oenotheranaPrimrose Cochylid
- Desmia funeralisGrape Leaffolder Moth
- Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
- Euhagena emphytiformisGaura Borer Moth
- Eumorpha fasciatusBanded Sphinx
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Mompha albocapitellaWhite-Based Mompha
Show all 21
- Mompha circumscriptellaCircumscript Mompha
- Mompha eloisellaRed-Streaked Mompha
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Proserpinus gauraeProud Sphinx
- Schinia floridaPrimrose Flower Moth, Evening Primrose Flower Moth
- Schinia gauraeClouded Crimson
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Dichomeris agonia
- Mompha brevivittella
- Mompha stellella
23BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Oenothera
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
4Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Oenothera
- Lasioglossum aberrans
- Lasioglossum lusorium
- Lasioglossum oenotherae
- Melissodes fimbriatus
5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Oenothera
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
- Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Onagraceae
- Flower color
- White
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “July to September” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Height · “Up to about 12 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Life cycle · “Annual, biennial or perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Full sun (6+ hours); Part shade (3–6 hours)” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
- Soil · “Wet-mesic; Mesic; Dry-mesic; Dry” · Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide · Nursery cultural guide; height in flower; moisture categories retained as printed
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- FloraQuest: South Central (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications