Nodding Evening Primrose
Oenothera nutans
Found in roadsides, openings, forest edges, pastures. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 6 feet
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Biennial
- Bloom
- June to October
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
County records are not available.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
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
- Yellow
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “June to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 6 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Biennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4 |
| 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
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- 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