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Mirabilis jalapa

Common name:	Marvel Of Peru	Family:	Nyctaginaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The seeds and the rots are reported to cause digestive disturbances[274].
Range:	S. America - Peru. Naturalized in France and possibly other places in Europe.
Habitat:	Not known
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	M. jalapa ssp. lindheimeri[B,P] M. lindheimeri[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Belle De Nuit [E], Belle De Nuit Blanche [E], Belle De Nuit Rose [E], Buenas Tardes [E], Bunga Pukul Empat [E], Common Four-o'clock [L], Dondiego De Noche [E], Four O'Clock [E], Four O'clock [H], Four-O'Clock [E], Gecesefase [E], Geje Safa [E], Gulabbas [E], Heft Reng [E], Jalap [E], Kederat [E], Kembang Pagi Sore [E], Kembang Pukul Empat [E], Lala A'Bbas [E], Maravilla [E], Marvel Of Peru [H,P], Marvel-of-peru [B], Noche Buena [E], Nodja [E], Segerat [E], Tzu Mo Li [E], Ubat Jerawat [E],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	mirabilis = wonderful, marvelous, extraordinary mira = marvelous
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Four o'clock family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Africa China Dominican Republic Haiti Hawaii India Iraq Japan Java Malaya Mexico Pakistan Spain Turkey Us Venezuela Wi

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.6m by 0.45m . It is hardy to zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Colouring Condiment Leaves.

Tender young leaves - cooked as a vegetable[105, 183, 272]. An emergency food, only eaten when all else fails[177].
An edible crimson dye is obtained from the flowers[46, 61, 105, 177]. It is used for colouring cakes and jellies[183].
The seed is crushed and used as a pepper substitute[105, 177, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Diuretic Purgative Vulnerary.

The root is aphrodisiac, diuretic and purgative. It is used in the treatment of dropsy[46, 61, 154, 218, 240]. A paste of the root is applied as a poultice to treat scabies and muscular swellings[272]. The juice of the root is used in the treatment of diarrhoea, indigestion and fevers[272]. The powdered root, mixed with corn flour (Zea mays) is baked and used in the treatment of menstrual disorders[272].
The leaves are diuretic[272]. They are used to reduce inflammation[240]. A decoction of them is used to treat abscesses[218]. The leaf juice is used to treat wounds[218].

Other Uses

Cosmetic Dye.

The powdered seed is used as a cosmetic[46, 61].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in almost any ordinary garden soil[1]. Prefers a fertile well-drained soil in full sun or part day shade[200].
This species is not very hardy in Britain. The top growth is cut back by frost but the tuber survives the winter outdoors if the temperature does not fall much below -5° c, a good mulch would be beneficial[200]. Tubers can be lifted and stored over winter in a cool frost free place in the same way that dahlia tubers are stored[1, 200]. The marvel of Peru is usually grown as a half-hardy annual in temperate zones, it flowers freely in its first year[200]. Plants also self-sow freely in warmer areas (these seedlings can be easily transplanted) and they can become a weed in such situations due to their deep rooting habit[200].
This species was cultivated as a medicinal plant by the Aztecs prior to the Spanish conqust[274].
The flowers are sweetly scented and do not open until the afternoon[233].
The young growth is particularly susceptible to aphis infestation[200].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer[233].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in early summer, after the last expected frosts. The seed remains viable for several years[196].
Division in spring as the plant comes into growth[200].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are sweetly scented and do not open until the afternoon[245].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[R] Rainforest medicinal Data (common names, medicinal uses, images) from the Rain-Tree.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Nyctaginaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[154] Ewart. A. J. Flora of Victoria.
A flora of eastern Australia, it is rather short on information that is useful to the plant project.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[196] Popenoe. H. et al Lost Crops of the Incas National Academy Press 1990 ISBN 0-309-04264-X
An excellent book. Very readable, with lots of information and good pictures of some lesser known food plants of S. America.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[218] Duke. J. A. and Ayensu. E. S. Medicinal Plants of China Reference Publications, Inc. 1985 ISBN 0-917256-20-4
Details of over 1,200 medicinal plants of China and brief details of their uses. Often includes an analysis, or at least a list of constituents. Heavy going if you are not into the subject.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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