Evening Primrose
Evening primrose is an herb with bright yellow flowers that are partially or fully closed during the day and open at night, giving the plant its common name. It's native to North and South America and is used to support the treatment of eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, premenstrual syndrome, breast pain, and menopause symptoms.
Scientific Name: Oenothera biennis
Common Name: Evening primrose, evening star, sundrop, weedy evening primrose, German rampion, hog
weed, King's cure-all, and fever-plant
Plant Family: Onagraceae (Willowherb family)
Etymology: Oenothera means a soporific plant. The etymology of the genus name may have come from the Greek words “oinos” and “theras,” meaning wine-seeker. Ancient uses of evening primrose may have included using the roots to scent wine. Biennis refers to its biennial life cycle.
Parts Used: flowers, leaves, roots, seeds
Season: year round
Indigenous Uses
The Cherokee, Iroquois, Ojibwas, and Potawatomi were among several Native American tribes that used evening primrose for both food and for medicinal purposes. They ate the cooked greens when young, and made a tea for overfatness and hot root poultice for piles. The bark and leaves are astringent and sedative and are used for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders, whooping cough, and asthma. Indigenous Americans used the juice from evening primrose to treat skin inflammation and minor wounds. The leaves were ingested orally to soothe gastrointestinal issues and sore throats.
Traditional Uses
Evening primrose is commonly used in dietary supplements today because of its treatment for atopic dermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, breast pain, and women's health support, like PMS and menopause. It's also used to kickstart labor at the end of a pregnancy. Evening primrose has gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is an omega-6 fatty acid, which can help reduce inflammation on the skin when applied topically, and supplementation of evening primrose to the skin can promote elasticity, moisture, and firmness. GLA also supports PMS symptom relief because it converts to prostaglandin E1, which is thought to prevent prolactin from triggering hormonal distress.
Edible Parts
Raw roots can be minced and marinated in salad vinaigrette for twenty minutes before use in salad. When eaten raw, the roots are similar to radish. When cooked, the taste is similar to a turnip. The cooked roots can provide a thickening element in soups and stews. The rosette leaves are mustardy and can be added to stir-fry recipes. The flowers are good raw and mixed with milder greens in salads, or lightly cooked. Seeds can be used as a replacement for poppy seeds. Use seeds in energy bar recipes.
If harvested from fall through winter, the roots and rosette leaves should be collected. From midspring through the early summer, the leaves, stems, and flowers are ideal for harvesting.
Gathering and Using
The entire plant is edible, so foragers can enjoy the mild, sweet flavor of the flowers as a garnish or in a salad, the leaves as a salad green or a stir-fry, the stalks as peeled and eaten raw or cooked, or the seeds medicinally. The roots are also edible and are best harvested in the fall of their first year or spring of their second year, before the stems grow tall. The roots are mild when harvested at this time of year, with a touch of a spicy black pepper.
Caution: Do not consume to excess. While smaller amounts of even primrose are effective at alleviating digestive symptoms, large quantities eaten by itself can lead to gastric distress.
Contemporary Medicinal Uses
Evening primrose is best when consumed as food, whether the fresh root of young plants, leaves, flowers, or seeds. It treats migraine, tonifies the female reproductive system, and gently stimulates the liver. It is slightly laxative, with a large amount of mucilage that can support treatment of indigestion.
How to Identify
Evening primrose can initially be identified by the basal rosette growing in the early spring, usually found in large colonies and in full sun. In the summer, flower stalks stand up to 6 feet tall! The stem has alternating leaves that are shallowly toothed, wavy at edges, and hairy. The plant blooms bright yellow flowers with four petals.
Wildlife Support
Hummingbirds visit evening primrose flowers for nectar and insects. The seed pods provide a food source for birds during the winter, and hawk moths may pollinate the plants.