# Scarlet Beeblossom

*Oenothera suffrutescens*

The flowers typically open in the evening as white or pale pink and turn a deep scarlet red after they are pollinated or as they age the following day.

- **Taxonomy:** Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Myrtales › Onagraceae › Oenothera
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Dry prairies, plains, rocky slopes, and disturbed roadsides.
- **Diet:** Photosynthetic (Sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide).
- **Range:** Great Plains of North America, Chihuahuan Desert, Canadian Prairies, Central Mexico
- **Size:** 20-60 cm in height with a spread of 30 cm.
- **Lifespan:** 3-5 years
- **Active:** crepuscular
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, conversion of grasslands to intensive agriculture, and widespread herbicide use.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. This plant is safe to touch and observe. It provides vital nectar for native pollinators; avoid trampling the base or picking wild blossoms to ensure successful seed dispersal.

## About

Oenothera suffrutescens (syn. Gaura coccinea ) is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known as scarlet beeblossom and scarlet gaura .

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/0a93655b-77e0-426f-b6d5-94d99968edda
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/78250
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oenothera suffrutescens
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/205056/medium.jpg (Stan Shebs, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.