I thought this plant very curious - the flowers on top were yellow, maybe 2cm in diameter, but along the stem were all these very white spent flowers. It's about a meter tall, narrow opposite leaves on somewhat purple stems. At Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park in Vancouver.
Yes, thank you! But now I wonder which one. I posted Oenothera biennis from UBCBG (Last day of August in the UBC garden) last year, and can usually recognize that. I didn't recognize this at all, maybe because there were no open flowers. I don't see descriptions of Oenothera flowers fading to white, or mentioning reddish stems. The E-flora BC page for Oenothera villosa shows red stems. E-Flora BC Atlas Page. There are two subspecies for that, one native and the other not.
Sorry I cannot help further...out of my comfort zone! I just thought it looked like Evening primrose. Having a 2nd look the calyx and seed pods also seem to fit. oenothera calyx - Google Search oenothera seed pods - Google Search: Red stems...???? oenothera red stems - Google Search: Yellow flowers fade to white...???? Oenothera biennis faded flowers - Google Search:
Thanks, @Silver surfer. This Minnesota Seasons - common evening primrose page has a photo that shows the whitish spent flowers and red stem of Oenothera biennis. The E-flora BC says the inflorescence is a dense spike, whereas O. villosa has a few-flowered open spike. I would call this a dense spike. Someone can correct me if it isn't O. biennis. Here are two close-ups, of leaves showing quite serrated edges, and the fruit capsules.