| Evening primrose grows in abundance throughout our herb and perennial gardens. The sunny yellow flowers bloom for most of the summer. It is a coarse biennial herb with a thick fleshy taproot. The blooms last only one day, followed by elongated seed capsules. It self-seeds very easily. Plant the seeds in summer where you want the plants to grow or plant them in a seedbed for transplanting in the fall. That's what we do for most of our perennials and herbs. We have nursery beds in our vegetable gardens where we plant dozens of different kinds of seeds. By summer's end we have a lush abundance of healthy young plants.
The plant is used medicinally as an oil and it is a good source of Omega-6 fatty acid and gamma linoleic acid (GLA). Evening primrose oil is an anti-inflammatory and it is thought to improve the immune system response. It is helpful in the treatment of atopic eczema. To be effective, evening primrose oil should contain between 8 and 10% GLA. The label will say cold-pressed or fresh-pressed. The GLA, the active constituent of oil of evening primrose is an essential fatty acid that is converted into prostaglandin. Studies have shown that it is effective in treating the symptoms of PMS such as irritability, headaches, breast tenderness, and bloating. It is also thought to be helpful in the treatment of acne, arthritis, fibromyalgia, and some skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. |
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