''Matthiola longipetala'', known as night-scented stock or evening stock ( syns ''Cheiranthus longipetalus'', ''Matthiola bicornis'', ''Matthiola longipetala'' subsp. ''bicornis'', and ''Matthiola oxyceras''), is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

Description

A member of the genus ''Matthiola'' native to

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...

which emits a pleasant scent in the evening and through the night. It has four-petaled purple to white

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s, which are approximately 1 to 2 cm wide. The plant is low-growing and highly branched in form, normally growing to about 45 cm in length. During the heat of the day, the flowers appear wilted.

Cultivation

This species is primarily grown for the evening scent. It is cold-resistant and grown throughout

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, even doing well into

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

1 . This

hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, Sout ...

annual prefers cool conditions in full sun and may not do well at high temperatures. It is best to plant thickly in clumps if a bushy appearance is desired. In

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, the tiny seeds are usually sown in the early spring after the last frost and may be started indoors in April. They will bloom throughout the early summer and well into the summer if watered regularly. They should not be overwatered. They may also be grown in balcony containers although they will not usually stand upright and must not be allowed to become too hot and dry.

References

Bibliography

External links

Night-blooming plants longipetala Flora of Malta {{Brassicales-stub