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