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Mirabilis- the 4 ‘0’ Clock Plant

Scientific Name- Mirabilis jalapa
IUCN Status- Not Evaluated
It belongs to the family Nyctanginaceae (Bougainvillea family).
It is the Children’s State Flower of Connecticut (an US State) under the name of Michaela Petit’s Four 0’ clocks. (Michaela was among the 3 died in Cheshire Home invasion murders in 2007. 4 ‘0’ Clocks are her favorite.)
It is also called Marvel of Peru or 4 ‘0’ Clock Flower.
Its Generic name Mirabilis is derived from a Latin word which means Wonderful- to be admired.
Its Species name has 2 attributes. Some say it is from Jalapa- a city of Mexico. Some say it is originally Xalapa- a city of Guatemala. Both these seem to be true- as Mirabilis is native of Central and South America- Guatemala, Mexico, Chile and Peru.
It is now a naturalized exotic worldwide.
The flowers of Mirabilis open in the late afternoon and close to next morning. Hence they are named 4’0’ Clocks.
It is called Gul Abbas, Sandhyamalathi(~ Evening Flower)or Chandrakantha in our local parlance.
In Maldives, it is called Asurumaa. ‘Asr’ means obligatory prayer of Muslims performed between 3-4PM in Maldives. Thus supporting the claim of 4 ‘0’ Clock flower.
It is a bushy, perennial herbaceous plant with long ovate lanceolate smooth leaves and heavy tuberous roots.
Flowers are fragrant, funnel shaped and penta-lobed with stamens protuding from center as a cluster.
Colors are variable- white, pink, red and yellow- either plain or stripped or mottled with other shades.
It is marvelous to see multiple color variants on the same plant. Hence, the name Marvel of Peru.
It propagates by seeds.
Seed is spherical, wrinkled started out as greenish yellow, eventually turn black on maturity.
Another unique feature of Mirabilis is its color changing phenomenon. A plant on maturity changes the color of its flowers. Initially yellow can become pink on maturity or vice versa.
Mirabilis has multiple uses. Its flowers are used in food coloring and for dying textiles.
In Peru, juice from flowers is used to cure Herpes Lesions and Earaches.
Its leaves are eaten as a vegetable. Its bulbous roots have a laxative effect.
Mirabilis plants help in Bio-remediation of heavy metals like Cadmium.
With varying colors Mirabilis serves as important source for genetic studies. Carl Correns used Mirabilis for his studies on Cytoplasmic Inheritance. Cross breeding of White Mirabilis Flowers and Red Mirabilis Flowers breed Pink flowers not Red, proving "Mendel's Law of Incomplete Dominance."

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