''Mirabilis multiflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the

four o'clock family Nyctaginaceae, the four o'clock family, is a family of around 33 genera and 290 species of flowering plants, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few representatives in temperate regions. The family has a unique fruit t ...

known by the common name Colorado four o'clock that is native to the southwestern United States from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, as well as far northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, where it grows in mostly dry habitat types in a number of regions.

Description

It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herb growing upright to about in maximum height. The leaves are oppositely arranged on the spreading stem branches. Each fleshy leaf has an oval or rounded blade up to long and is hairless or sparsely hairy. The flowers occur in leaf axils on the upper branches. Usually six flowers bloom in a bell-shaped

involucre In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or o ...

of five partly fused bracts. Each five-lobed, funnel-shaped flower is wide and magenta in color.

Uses

Among the Zuni people, the powdered root mixed with flour, made into a bread and used to decrease appetite. An

infusion Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An in ...

of the root is taken and rubbed on the abdomen of hungry adults and children. An infusion of the powdered root is taken by adults or children after overeating.

Pollination

''M. multifloras reproduction is dependent on hawkmoths for pollination. Two primary pollinators are the hawkmoths ''

Hyles lineata ''Hyles lineata'', also known as the white-lined sphinx, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. They are sometimes known as the hummingbird moth because of their bird-like size (2-3 inch wingspan) and flight patterns. As caterpillars, they have a ...

'' and ''

Manduca quinquemaculata ''Manduca quinquemaculata'', the five-spotted hawkmoth, is a brown and gray hawk moth of the family Sphingidae. The caterpillar, often referred to as the tomato hornworm, can be a major pest in gardens; they get their name from a dark projectio ...

.''

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
multiflora Flora of the Southwestern United States Night-blooming plants Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Taxa named by Asa Gray Taxa named by John Torrey {{Caryophyllales-stub