Mirabilis jalapa L.
Vernacular name: Four o’clock flower, Marvel of Peru (Hindi: गुलअब्बास)
Species Name: Mirabilis jalapa L.
Family: Nyctaginaceae
Habit: Perennial bushy herb (annual in temperate zones)
Stem: Succulent, branched, 30–90 cm tall, often with a tuberous base, glabrous to hairy.
Leaf: Opposite, ovate-cordate, 5–10 × 3–7 cm, short-petiolate, wavy margins, sticky-hairy.
Flowering: Late afternoon onwards (short-day plant).
Flowers: Axillary, 3–7-flowered involucral heads; involucre with 5 green sepal-like bracts enlarging in fruit; corolla with a fused tube 2–3 cm long and 5 spreading lobes (white, pink, yellow, or variegated, fragrant); 5 epipetalous stamens (anthers included); inferior ovary.
Fruit: Achene-like utricle, 5–8 mm, black, ribbed, persisting in the enlarged involucre.
Uses:
- Popular ornamental for colorful evening flowers; medicinal roots as purgative/laxative.
- Tuber extracts antibacterial; ALL PARTS TOXIC if ingested (rotundin alkaloid).
- Aztec “wonder plant”; self-sowing garden escapee; color-changing genetics classic
