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Beach Evening-primrose

Oenothera drummondii

Found in sandy ocean beaches, disturbed areas; eastwards perhaps only introduced or adventive from the western Gulf Coast. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 71%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Bloom
April to October

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 7 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

20CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · 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 20
  • Mompha circumscriptellaCircumscript Mompha
  • Mompha eloisellaRed-Streaked Mompha
  • 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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
4Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Oenothera

  • Lasioglossum aberrans
  • Lasioglossum lusorium
  • Lasioglossum oenotherae
  • Melissodes fimbriatus
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
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Onagraceae
Soil pH
Neutral
Flower color
Yellow

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Beach Evening primrose

Conservation status

Florida rankSH
Global rankG3G5
FL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources