MIRABILIS JALAPA

Family and Genus:- See- NYCTAGINACEAE

Common Names:- Miracle-of-Peru

Homotypic Synonyms:- Mirabilis jalapa f. eujalapa, Nyctago hortensis,
Nyctago jalapae, Nyctago versicolor.

Meaning:- Mirabilis (L) Wonderful, extraordinary, astonishing.
                  Jalapa (L) From Jalapa, Veracruz.

General description:- Plant, glabrous or slightly pubescent.

Stems:-
1) 50-100 cm, erect.

Leaves:-
1) Ovate, acuminate.

Flowers:-
1) In crowded terminal cymes.
2) Perianth, red, yellow, white, or parti-coloured;
    a) limb, c. 25 mm diam.
    b) tube, 25-35 mm.

The flowers usually open from late afternoon onwards, then produce a strong,
sweet-smelling fragrance throughout the night, closing for good in the morning.

Fruit:-
1) Single-seeded, spherical, wrinkled and black upon maturity.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Submerged in fresh or brackish water. 0-850 m.

Distribution:- Cultivated as an ornamentally plant, and locally naturalized in S.
Europe. Introduced from Tropical South America (Peru). On Crete widespread
around villages often naturalized.

Flowering time:- June-Sept.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton
SPECIES DESCRIPTION