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Nyctaginaceae
Four O'Clock
Mirabilis jalapa
Timidity, evening surprise.
- Family
- Nyctaginaceae
- Genus
- Mirabilis
- Native to
- Tropical Americas
- Bloom season
- Summer, Fall
- Type
- Tender perennial
- Height
- 60–90 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- 9–11; annual elsewhere
- Lifespan
- Tuberous perennial in warm climates
Did you know
- The flowers open in late afternoon — typically around 4 o'clock — and stay open through the night, then close by morning.
- A single plant can have flowers in different colors at the same time, and individual blooms can even be striped, splashed, or two-toned.
- Mirabilis means 'wonderful' in Latin, and the four o'clock was one of the first flowers to be deliberately bred for color variation in 17th-century European gardens.
- Geneticists love the four o'clock — Carl Correns used it in 1909 to demonstrate cytoplasmic inheritance, a major early genetics breakthrough.
- Aztecs called it tlaquilin and used the roots medicinally; the species name jalapa refers to Xalapa, Mexico.
Color meanings
Pink
Late-blooming joy