Common Name: FOUR O'CLOCK FAMILY Habit: Annual, perennial herb, subshrub, [shrub, tree], glabrous or hairy. Stem: often forked. Leaf: opposite, sessile or petioled, pairs generally unequal; blade generally entire. Inflorescence: generally forked; spike, head-like cluster, or umbel, flowers rarely 1, bracts forming a calyx-like involucre or not. Flower: bisexual, generally +- radial (bilateral), sometimes cleistogamous in some genera; perianth of 1 whorl, generally petal-like, bell- to trumpet-shaped, base hardened, tightly surrounding ovary in fruit, lobes 3--5, generally notched to +- lobed; stamens 1--many; ovary superior (appearing inferior due to hardened perianth base), style 1. Fruit: achene in hardened perianth base; round to +- flat; smooth, angled, ribbed, or winged; glabrous, hairy, or glandular. Genera In Family: 30 genera, 350 species: warm regions, especially America; some ornamental (Bougainvillea; Mirabilis, four o'clock). eFlora Treatment Author: Andy Murdock, except as noted Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Common Name: FOUR O'CLOCK Habit: Perennial herb, subshrub. Stem: repeatedly forked, decumbent to erect. Leaf: generally petioled. Inflorescence: branches ending in umbel-like cluster or solitary flowers; bracts 5(9), +- fused (or not) into calyx-like, bell- to saucer-shaped involucre; flowers in 1 involucre 1--16, generally not blooming together; flowers cleistogamous or not. Flower: radial or +- bilateral; perianth funnel- to bell-shaped, lobes 5; stamens 3--5, generally exserted; stigma +- spheric, generally exserted. Fruit: +- round to club-shaped; ribs or angles 0, 5, 10; wings 0. Etymology: (Latin: wonderful) Note: Flowers open in evening, close in morning; species intergrade, taxonomy unsettled. eFlora Treatment Author: Andy Murdock Reference: Spellenberg 2003 FNANM 4:40--57
Mirabilis jalapa L. var. jalapa
NATURALIZED Stem: erect, < 1 m, hairs 0 or sparse, short. Leaf: blade 5--14 cm, ovate to cordate. Inflorescence: +- terminal, short-peduncled, umbel-like clusters; involucre bell-shaped, 1-flowered; bracts 5, 5--15 mm, 1/2--3/4 fused. Flower: perianth 30--50 mm, narrowly funnel-shaped, generally bright magenta (yellow, white, orange, or variegated). Fruit: 8--10 mm, ovoid, hairs 0 to minute; ribs 5, blunt, +- wrinkled or warty between. Chromosomes: 2n=54. Ecology: Disturbed places with mild winters; Elevation: < 300 m. Bioregional Distribution: CA-FP (esp SnFrB); Distribution Outside California: native to tropical America. Toxicity: TOXIC: Intestinal irritant in fruit, roots. Flowering Time: Generally May--Oct Note: Cultivated as ornamental with many perianth colors, some escaping, possibly hybridizing. Jepson eFlora Author: Andy Murdock Reference: Spellenberg 2003 FNANM 4:40--57 Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange) Previous taxon: Mirabilis greenei Next taxon: Mirabilis laevis
Citation for this treatment: Andy Murdock 2012, Mirabilis jalapa var. jalapa, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=81819, accessed on January 21, 2025.
Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) 2025, Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/, accessed on January 21, 2025.
No expert verified images found for Mirabilis jalapa var. jalapa.
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