It grows in dry meadows from Canada to Texas and east of the Rockies to the Atlantic.
The Ojibwa, a North American Indian tribe, were the first to discover its medicinal qualities and they used it to treat asthma and chest ailments.
It used was learned by the early European settlers and was introduced to Europe around 1614 where evening primrose became popular folk remedy.
Evening primrose was one of the first medicinal plants brought back to Europe by settler. It was not until 1919 that its active ingredient became known.
Heiduschka and Luft extracted the oil from evening primrose sees and reported the presence of an unusual linolenic acid.
Evening primrose oil has been the subject of hundreds of scientific studies, which led to it becoming one of the most widely used botanical medicines today.
History of gamma linolenic acid
