Evening Primrose

Oenothera biennis Evening flower, night star, sweetrootBiennial, up to 1 m high. Stem often reddish, angular. Leaves elongated, toothed, narrowing towards the stem.

Fragrant, bright yellow flowers at the base of the leaves. The flowers open in the evening and are pollinated by moths. They develop into square fruits with fierce seeds.

Flowering time: June to October. Occurrence: The evening primrose originates from North America and was an integral part of the Native Americans’ medicinal treasure. Only 200 years ago the evening primrose came to Europe and can be found in the wild at railroad embankments, waysides and in nature reserves.

In the meantime, the evening primrose is cultivated for medicinal purposes. From the seeds one wins fatty oil with an unusually high proportion of gamma-linolenic acid (10%). The leaves of the evening primrose are harvested when it blossoms, the root in autumn.

Gamma-linolenic acid is found in the seeds, the tannins in the leaves, and the evening primrose is also rich in starch and minerals. For a long time the evening primrose was hardly noticed, folk medicine used the leaves as a remedy against diarrhea because of their tannin content. The root was dug up, steamed and consumed as a vegetable.

It was believed that its power helped sick people to recover faster. Only after the discovery of the gamma-linolenic acid contained in the seeds did the evening primrose gain attention. This fatty acid is the starting point for vital building blocks in the human metabolism and should always be taken in sufficient quantities.

With neurodermatitis the oil of the evening primrose brings relief and reduces the symptoms as well as physical and psychological complaints of women before their monthly menstruation should also respond well to a treatment with evening primrose oil. So far, no side effects of evening primrose oil are known.

  • Redness
  • Scaling and
  • Itching