Beeblossom Other Common Names: White Gaura, Butterfly Gaura, Lindheimer's Beeblossom, Lindheimer's Gaura, Indian feather, Lindheimer's clockweed, Pink Gaura, Whirling butterflies Scientific Name: Oenothera lindheimeri Native to Alabama: Yes
	North Carolina University Extension Kathleen Moore Click on image to enlarge it

  
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Basic Plant Information
	I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous. I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous. I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial. I can grow 2 - 5 feet high and 1 - 2 feet wide.
North Carolina University Extension Cathy Dewitt Click on image to enlarge it

 


















 


 

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Ecological Benefits

This plant provides food for:
Butterflies	Native Bees	Other Pollinators

  
 

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Maintenance Notes
Dormant in the winter. Can become invasive. Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase. If all the flower spikes are cut back at once, it will take 2 to 3 weeks for the plants to start blooming again. Cut back the flower spikes in fall and remove all dead foliage the following spring.
Although it is not necessary, removing some of the flower stems will keep the plant looking tidier, encourage more blooms, and reduce self-seeding.If cut back midsummer, it will regrow and bloom again in fall. Plants can be sheared in late spring, removing up to half the height of the plant, to keep plants smaller. When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds.  Water should reach all roots. Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves. Requires average amount of water.
Average watering: water two times per week during the summer and once per week during the rest of the year.

 

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Habitat Requirements
This plant prefers:
Full Sun (6+ hours of sun per day) Part Sun/ Shade (2-6 hours of sun per day)		Average Watering	Sandy, Loamy, Clay, Acidic, or Moist Soil

 

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Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification
LEAF DESCRIPTION				Wikimedia Forest and Kim starr Click on image to enlarge it
Leaf Characteristics Chart (JPG)
Shape: Lanceolate	Margin: Serrate	Arrangement: Alternate	Form: Simple
Description:
Soft, hairy; Dark green in summer and red, gold, or purple in fall; 1-3 inches long and half an inch wide; grow in rosette form at base and singly on the stem

   

FLOWER DESCRIPTION				Click on image to enlarge it
Flower Shapes Chart (JPG)
Color: White, pink	Shape: Papilionaceous (butterfly-like)		Bloom Months: April - July
Description:
½ - 1-inch wide flower with 4 petals on the upper side and 8 long stamens and 1 pistil on lower side; grow on long, wiry spikes; open in the evening or early morning; white, fading to light pink

  

SEED DESCRIPTION			Photo from Dave'sGarden.com Click on image to enlarge it
Type: Fruit - Dry Seed Pod	Description: angular nut-like body containing one reddish-brown seed; pods are only ¼” long; start off green, then change to dark greyish- brown when they are mature
Plant spreads by:
Seeds and Rhizomes/Tubers/Roots & Shoots Can spread by both rhizomes and seeds.

 

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Plant Life Cycle
Plant Life Cycle: All plants start life as a seed. The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots. The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground. After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers. After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed. When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again. Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.	General Plant Life Cycle - Dreamstime Click on image to enlarge it

 

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

 

Quick Fact Sheet (Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign: Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign: Editable Word Doc

QR Code (Links to this Webpage)

 

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INFORMATION SOURCES FOR THIS PLANT

 

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center's Plant Database		North Carolina State Extension
University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension		Dave's Garden

 
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