Nyctaginaceae
Four-o’clock Family
Mirabilis nyctaginea (Michx.) MacM.
- Stem: perennial; 2’ to 4’ tall; branching from below; lines of hairs between the angles of the stem; becoming woody later in the season.
- Leaves: opposite; wide below, chor-date, tapering to a pointed tip; 2 1/8” by 1 1/8” and larger; leaf stalks 1/2” to 1” to nearly sessile above; margins uneven and undulating; smooth above and below.
- Inflorescence: crowded clusters of flowers at the tips of short hairy stalks; a pair of leaves below each group of flower stalks.
- Flowers: without petals; calyx purple, resembling petals, tubular, 1/2” long; surrounded by five leafy bracts (involucre) that resemble a calyx; opening in late afternoon; flowering from late May to mid-July.
- Fruits: linear, 3/32” long; fruiting begins in mid-July.
- Habitat: frequent on dry to mesic prairies, also on roadsides and in other open places; weedy and often a pioneer on disturbed sites.
- Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
- Vascular Plants of Iowa
Can be found in these counties:
