Home | > | List of cultivated families | > | Nyctaginaceae | > | Mirabilis | > | jalapa |
Synonyms: | |
Common names: | Beauty-of-the-night (English) Four o'clock flower (English) Marvel-of-Peru (English) |
Description: | Herb up to 1.5 m tall. Leaves 3.5-13 × 2-8 cm ovate, glabrous to puberulent, entire; apex acuminate; margin ciliate; rhaphides conspicuous beneath. Inflorescences terminal. Involucre divided ± halfway into 5 triangular to ovate lobes. Perianth 4-5.5 cm long, tubular; lower portion green; upper portion spreading, purple, red, yellow, white or variegated. Stamens 5-6, exserted. Anthocarp 7-9 mm long, ellipsoid to subspherical, ribbed or angled, black. |
Notes: | |
Derivation of specific name: | jalapa: from Xalapa (Jalapa), capital of Veracruz state, Mexico. |
Flowering time: | |
Worldwide distribution: | Native from Mexico to Central America; introduced elsewhere. |
Growth form(s): | |
Insects associated with this species: | |
Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
Image last updated: | Sunday 18 March 2018 |
Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 216. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 64. Stannard, B.L. (1988). Nyctaginaceae Flora Zambesiaca 9(1) Pages 13 - 14. (Includes a picture). |
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