The first year basal rosette of Oenothera elata var.*hirsutissima (*treated also as subsp.). Rosette width was about 28 cm; a very robust rosette for this species and especially this early in the season. Plant first appeared last summer.In it is second and usually final season, it turns into something quite different.A native herbaceous species that has found a way to hang on in wet places in suburbia.February 28, 2016, Salt Lake County, Utah, about 4,335 ft.
Oenothera cespitosa Nutt. var. marginata (Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn.) MunzMay 22, 2010, late afternoon, Salt Lake County foothills, Wasatch Mtns, approx 5000 ft.Leaves on this plant less pinnatifid than others but growing directly with the typical var. marginata type plants.The species name has been widely spelled as "caespitosa" however that appears to be in error going back to the early 1800's. The name as published by Nuttall was cespitosa, not caespitosa, and that spelling does not contain any obvious error requiring correction, so the originally published name should be used.