I found this sprouting behind my porch a few months ago and just let it grow to see what it would become. It was @ 5 1/2 - 6' in height until something (squirrel or raccoon maybe) bent and broke two of the branches. I'm thinking "Common Evening Primrose" (Oenothera biennis) but I'm just so bad at comparing photo's. Any confirmation or suggestions greatly appreciated!

Branch/Stems:


Leaves:


Bloom: (The color is actually lemon yellow, one photo looks a bit orange because of the light)

The bloom does reminds me of an evening primrose I had a few years back, but don't take my word for it...my powers of ID need LOTS of help

Thanks Gin! My powers of ID need lots of help anymore too ... the older I get the worse it is. There was a time when I knew the scientific/botanical name of every plant I owned but most of the time nowadays I look at a plant and don't have a clue what it is. My husband says "Old age isn't for sissies". I have so much trouble trying to go back and forth comparing photo's that I get real confused. Hopefully someone will recognize this and be able to give me an exact ID.

I can relate...need to buy ink so I can print out pics of the "wild" stuff in my yard that I've gotten IDs for and added to the DB. Would be much easier then going through all my submissions. "Proper" names...give me a break...talk to me in English, redneck or whatever

My vote is for O biennis also. It occurs naturally in Florida, leaves and blooms look right, height seems right....UH-OH.....that must mean I am wrong.....

Unless the flower is malformed, and it doesn't appear to be, the plant can't be Oenothera biennis. Oenothera flowers have just four petals. Unfortunately, I couldn't even guess what the plant actually is.

hmm ... well, I guess I will leave this open for awhile longer to see if anyone else has some suggestions. I was leaning towards O. biennis but it might be a variety of Ludwigia ... haven't had time to research those yet.

I think it's Ludwigia peruviana (Peruvian Water Primrose). I have some photo's in the database that I took at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge last year: Peruvian Water Primrose (Ludwigia peruviana) It's listed as a category I invasive here in Florida so I'm going to pull it out!

edited to say: I read that this Ludwigia can have 4-5 petals!

Lin, I counted 29 species of Ludwigia that grow in Florida and many of those grow near your area. They can be difficult to tell apart. Wildflowers of Houston and Southeast Texas says " Classification often depends on the number of stamens and sepals and on small details of the seed capsules." I think a lot more research is needed before making a conclusion about which one you have.

Thanks so much Jay. I'm going to rip it out anyway so I guess I don't really need to know which one it is.

See....I told you I was wrong....

I do think it's Ludwigia, just not certain which one and after Jay's response I doubt I'll ever know for sure. I was thinking L. peruviana because it grows near water and we have a waterway behind the house, LOL. I'm wrong more often than I'm right ...

I'm closing this thread. The same identical plant is growing at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge where it was identified as Ludwigia peruviana. Thanks everyone for your input!