Shale Barren Evening-primrose
Oenothera argillicola
Found in shale barrens and woodlands. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
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At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 8 West Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 23 animals.
Widespread birds also seen here (30)
Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.
- American Goldfinch
- American Robin
- Blue Grosbeak
- Blue Jay
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Cedar Waxwing
- Chipping Sparrow
- Common Nighthawk
- Common Raven
- Cooper's Hawk
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Eastern Kingbird
- European Starling
- Gray Catbird
- Great Horned Owl
- Mourning Dove
- Northern Flicker
- Northern Mockingbird
- Olive-sided Flycatcher
- Osprey
- Purple Finch
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Tufted Titmouse
- Turkey Vulture
- Wild Turkey
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Who uses this plant?
17CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Oenothera
- Amphion floridensisNessus Sphinx
- Apantesis argeArge Tiger Moth
- Atroposia oenotheranaPrimrose Cochylid
- Desmia funeralisGrape Leaffolder Moth
- Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Mompha circumscriptellaCircumscript Mompha
- Mompha eloisellaRed-Streaked Mompha
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
Show all 17
- Schinia floridaPrimrose Flower Moth, Evening Primrose Flower Moth
- Schinia gauraeClouded Crimson
- Spargania magnoliataDouble-Banded Carpet
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- 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
2BirdsRecorded eating Oenothera in West Virginia
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes West Virginia, most records first.
- Wild Turkey4 diet records
- Mourning Dove2 diet records
Direct food only. 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
Birds that eat Oenothera 2
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
Plant details
- Family
- Family not recorded
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| West Virginia rank | S3 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| WV 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
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- West Virginia occurrence source
- 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