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Mirabilis nyctaginea

Common name:	Wild Four O'clock Plant	Family:	Nyctaginaceae
Author:	Michx.	Botanical references:	200, 274
Synonyms:	Oxybaphus nyctagineus ((Michx.) Sweet.)
Known Hazards:	One report says that the plant is considered poisonous, but gives no details[222].
Range:	N. America - Wisconsin to Mexico.
Habitat:	Prairies and rich soil[222]. Often found in calcareous clay soils[274].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Allionia nyctaginea[B,G,P] M. collina[B,,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Heart-leaf Four-o'clock [B], Heartleaf Four O'clock [P],
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
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Washington.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m. It is hardy to zone 8 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 0/5 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

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Vulnerary.

The chewed root is used as a poultice for wounds, burns, sores, sprains etc[207, 222, 257]. A tea made from the roots is also used to treat burns, fevers and to expel worms[213, 222, 257].
A tea made from the leaves or the roots is used in the treatment of bladder ailments[222]. Caution is advised in the use of this plant internally, see notes above on toxicity.

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a fertile well-drained soil in full sun or part-day shade[200].
Plants flower in their first year from seed and, although they are not very hardy in Britain, they can either be grown as half-hardy annuals or the tubers can be harvested in the autumn and stored overwinter in a cool frost-free place in much the same manner as dahlias[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].

Suppliers

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

Web References

[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.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[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

[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.

[207] Coffey. T. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File. 1993 ISBN 0-8160-2624-6
A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Mirabilis+nyctaginea
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