Gaura coccinea – Scarlet Beeblossom

Gaura coccinea - Scarlet Beeblossom, Scarlet Gaura

Gaura coccinea - Scarlet Beeblossom, Scarlet Gaura

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Gaura coccinea

Synonyms: Gaura glabra, G. odorata

Common Names: Scarlet Beeblossom, Scarlet Gaura

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial

Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert, Upland, Mountain. This wildflower grows in grassy areas.

Flower Color: White, Pink, Pinkish red

Flowering Season: Spring (late), Summer

Height: To 20 inches (51 cm) tall

Description: The flowers are 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) wide and have 4 asymmetrical, spoon-shaped petals, a 4-lobed stigma, and 8 stamens. The flowers open white in the evening, later turn pink and then reddish and finally close later the next day. The leaves are small, alternate, and linear to narrowly elliptical in shape with smooth or toothed edges.

Special Characteristics

Butterfly Plant – The white, newly opened, nocturnal flowers attract pollinating moths.

Fragrant – The flowers are lightly fragrant in the evening.

Classification

Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Myrtales
Family: Onagraceae – Evening Primrose family
Genus: Gaura L. – beeblossom
Species: Gaura coccinea Nutt. ex Pursh – scarlet beeblossom

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map