E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Mirabilis nyctaginea (Michx.) MacMill.
umbrellawort (heartleaf four o'clock)
Nyctaginaceae (Four o'clock family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Mirabilis nyctaginea
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a deep root; stems erect, branched, 30-100 cm tall, glabrous to slightly hairy.

Leaves:
Opposite, broadly egg-shaped to rounded, to 10 cm long, tips pointed, heart-shaped to squared off at base, basically glabrous; stalks 5-20 mm long.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of umbels grouped in branched clusters; flower stalks hairy; bracts of inflorescence saucer-shaped, about 1 cm wide and papery in fruit, bracts 5, about 2/3 fused, base short-hairy, lobes glabrous; perianth white or pale pink, 8-10 mm long, broadly funnel-shaped with widely-flaring 5-lobed limb.

Fruits:
Achenes, broadly club-shaped, 4-6 mm long, 5-angled, wrinkled or warty, usually densely hairy.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Dry waste places in the montane zone; rare in SC BC, known only from Salmon Arm and Spences Bridge; introduced from C and E North America.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Allionia nyctaginea Michx.
Mirabilis collina Shinners
Oxybaphus nyctagineus (Michx.) Sweet

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Nyctaginaceae
Flora North America treatment for Mirabilis nyctaginea
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-16 6:46:38 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.