Mirabilis nyctaginea (Michx.) MacMill.
umbrellawort (heartleaf four o'clock)
Nyctaginaceae (Four o'clock family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
umbrellawort (heartleaf four o'clock)
Nyctaginaceae (Four o'clock family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
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.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Habitat and 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.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Allionia nyctaginea Michx.
Mirabilis collina Shinners
Oxybaphus nyctagineus (Michx.) Sweet