Evening Primrose / Spring / Summer / Autumn / Edible

The Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a striking wildflower that graces meadows, roadsides, and coastal areas across the UK with its bright yellow, fragrant blooms.

True to its name, its flowers open in the evening, attracting night-flying pollinators like moths. Beyond its beauty, Evening Primrose is valued for its edible and medicinal properties—its young leaves, flowers, and roots can all be used in cooking, while its seeds are famously pressed for oil, known for its potential health benefits.

This resilient plant is a fantastic addition to both wild landscapes and gardens, offering food for wildlife and a foraging opportunity for those in the know.

In this post, we’ll explore how to identify Evening Primrose, its traditional uses, and how to safely harvest and enjoy its edible parts.

Common Names

Coffee plant, Sun drop, Evening star, Fever plant, Field primrose, Four o’clock, Night willowherb, Cure-all

Botanical Name

Oenothera biennis

Scientific Classification

Kingdom – Plantae

Order – Asterales

Family – Onagraceae

Physical Characteristics of Evening Primrose

A herbaceous annual or usually biannual plant. Typically growing to 1 m to 1.5 m max

Leaves

Downy lanceolate shaped leaves, lightish to mid green with red/ pinkish veins. Each leaf is 8-18 cm long and 2-6 cm wide. Leaves form a low spreading rosette in first year or early growth, followed by spiralling up a strong erect flowering stem in the second year.

Flowers

Large showy flowers each made of 4 lemon yellow heart-shaped petals, each on a long flower stalk attached singly to a main erect stem. Flowers are fragrant and open first lower down and last on the tip. While closed the flowers appear long and bowl  shaped, they then spread opening only on dull day or in the evening, hence the name ‘evening’ primrose.

Very long flowering period blooming from late spring to late summer.  

Fruits/seeds

The seeds follow the flowers creating capsules full of dark brown tiny seeds.

Habitat

Not originally from the UK, native to eastern and central north America but now naturalised in England and established on every continent except Antarctica.

Favours disturbed areas such as clearings, verges, scrub land, wasteland anywhere where the soil is disturbed, the seeds need light to germinate and can’t compete with dense foliage.    

Known Hazards

It may increase the risk of bleeding for patients with bleeding disorders or taking drugs affecting clotting. People with seizure disorders or mania, pregnancy or breast feeding  should speak to a professional before using this herb.

Could be Confused with

Familiarise yourself with Foxgloves (Digitalis Purpurea), this is a deadly species. A beginner could confuse these as they have a similar tick list of characteristics in the first year’s growth. Both can have pink tones to the leaves and grow in a rosette. Both are downy, but Foxgloves leaves are hairier, and much wider with a serrated leaf margin. 

Before the flowers come out it looks very similar to Chicory also favouring similar growing environments, fortunately Chicory is also edible.

Also looks very similar to Willowherbs Epilobium sp none of which are known to be toxic and many edible.

Edible Uses

Evening Primrose is largely known for its medicinal oil made from the seed but actually every part of the plant is edible

Root- can be eaten either cooked or boiled

Leaves- Quite mild in flavour can be eaten raw in salads or steamed like spinach

Seeds- can be used as a substitute for Poppy seeds in baked goods, and made into Evening Primrose oil. 

Flower-buds- can be steamed or stir fried. 

Flowers- make stunning garnish or cake decoration.

Notes on Herbal Uses

Evening primrose is renowned for having quite an impressive list of health benefits. The oil is rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), an omega-6 fatty acid, which is thought to be responsible for many of its potential health benefits. Some of the better known benefits are for its use to manage symptoms related to hormonal imbalances, particularly in women such as menopause, PMS, breast tenderness and hot flushes.

The oil can be taken orally or applied topically to address skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis, where it is believed to reduce inflammation and irritation. It is also considered beneficial for promoting wound healing and alleviating acne and arthritis.

Additionally, Evening Primrose oil may support cardiovascular health by helping to lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels and also could offer neurological benefits. 

Extra notes from the Foragers

Amazingly, the cup shape of the flowers acts as an amplifier. It resonates with the hum of bees wings in flight making it increase the sweetness of its nectar within 3 minutes. When tested the flowers didn’t react to other sounds played to it, strongly suggesting this is a very purposeful design and the plants can interpret sound waves. 

For its scent and night opening flower its very beneficial for nocturnal pollinators and the seeds are enjoyed by finches. 

Resource

Chapter 5 in Light eaters by  Zoe Schlanger– flowers resonating with the sound or bees.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oenothera_biennis

The Lost book of herbal remedies by Nicole Apelian PHD and Claude Davis 

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/86498/oenothera-biennis/details

https://herbsociety.org.uk/2020/06/27/evening-primrose-oenothera-biennis-and-how-to-use-it/