Wikimedia Commons
Solanaceae
Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow
Brunfelsia pauciflora
Memory, time passing, transformation.
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Genus
- Brunfelsia
- Native to
- Brazil
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- Evergreen shrub
- Height
- 1–3 m
- Sunlight
- Part shade to full sun
- Soil
- Rich, acidic, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate to high
- Hardiness
- 9–11
- Lifespan
- Long-lived shrub
Did you know
- Each flower opens deep purple, fades to lavender the next day, and turns nearly white before falling — and a single shrub displays all three colors at once.
- The English name and the Brazilian name (manacá) both reflect the changing colors that seem to mark the passage of days.
- It's named after Otto Brunfels, a 16th-century German theologian who wrote one of the earliest illustrated botanical books.
- The flowers are powerfully fragrant after dark, attracting night-flying moths in their native Brazilian forests.
- All parts of the plant are toxic if eaten and contain a unique alkaloid called brunfelsamidine that has caused dog poisonings.
Color meanings
Purple
Reflection on the past
White
Letting go