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Mirabilis jalapa

L. (1753)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Eudicot-CoreEudicot Order: Caryophyllales Family: Nyctaginaceae Genus: Mirabilis

four o'clock, four-o'clock, marvel of Peru, nani ahiahi

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Erect perennial herbs 4–10 dm tall.

Stems: Stems forked, many-branched.

Roots: From a thick root.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Opposite. Blades triangular–ovate to broadly triangular–subcordate, 4–14 cm long, 2–8.5 cm wide., leaf pairs often unequal in size. Apex acute to acuminate. Surfaces glabrous, rarely puberulent. Margins entire or nearly so. Petiolate. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers 1–10 in open or congested, cymose inflorescence, peduncles 1–5 cm long. Involucre with 1 flower, campanulate, deeply 5-lobed, 7–15 mm long. Flowers bisexual (perfect). Perianth variously colored, usually dark purplish red in naturalized forms, wilting in the afternoon, funnelform, 30–50 mm long, tube gradually dilated upward to a broad limb 2–3.5 cm wide, shallowly 5-lobed. Corolla (petals) absent. Stamens 5; filaments distinct or connate at base; anthers didymous, usually exserted. Ovary superior, ellipsoid or globose, closely invested by lower part of perianth; style filiform; stigma capitate, exserted.

Fruit: Anthocarps dark brown to black; obovoid or subglobose; 8–10 mm long; prominently rugose; glabrous or puberulent. Seeds 1 per fruit; closely enclosed by the thin ovary wall.

Ploidy: 2n = 54; 58

Habitat: Dry; disturbed areas.

Elevation Range: 0–610 m.

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Statewide Status

Naturalized

Island Status

Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) Naturalized
Kaua'i Naturalized
O'ahu Naturalized
Molokai Naturalized
Lana'i Naturalized
Maui Naturalized
Hawai'i Naturalized

Dispersal Agents

Water/Ocean

Vegetative Reproduction

Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: Sp. Pl.: 177 (1753)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:982 (Mi, K, O, L, M, H); Oppenheimer 2003:16 (Mo); Staples & Herbst 2005:434 (DESCR); Jonathan Plissner pers. comm. 2025 (Mi†, 2022)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Description Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Mirabilis jalapa S. side of Diamond Head in gulch shaded by Prosopis Preserved_Specimen 0.6 m. tall. fl. white St.John, H. 25519 Oahu BISH 1955-05-01
2 Mirabilis jalapa Maunalei Valley Preserved_Specimen Munro, G.C. 639 Lanai BISH 1917-07-07
3 Mirabilis jalapa Maunalei Valley Preserved_Specimen Munro, G.C. 639 Lanai BISH 1917-07-07
4 Mirabilis jalapa Apua. On slope of pali Frequent in partial shade Preserved_Specimen Flowers lavender. Fagerlund, G.O. 547 Hawaii BISH 1943-05-10
5 Mirabilis jalapa Behind beach In disturbed sandy area with false kamani and java plum overstory. Preserved_Specimen Corn, C. Kauai BISH 1978-06-13
6 Mirabilis jalapa Nr. L.D.S. Church, Waialua Slope: 5 degrees. Soil: silty loam. Preserved_Specimen shrub to 3 ft tall. Funnel shaped blossoms, red, white, pink. Flowers open late afternoon. Common roadside weed and ornamental. Afualo, D. 51 Oahu BISH 1975-03-16
7 Mirabilis jalapa East Maui, NW slope, town of Keokea, dry scrubland downslope of Kula Hwy Steep side of deep lava pit just makai of Kula Hwy, growing with Ipomoea indica, Abutilon grandifolium, Panicum maximum, Persea, Schinus terebinthifolius. Preserved_Specimen Large, widely branching, 6 ft. tall herb. This yellow-flowered form found growing alongside white-flowered form. Imada, C. 9812 Maui BISH 1998-08-17
8 Mirabilis jalapa Waimea District. Just north of Kekaha, along Kokee Rd. Growing along disturbed roadside with other alien species; a possible rubbish/green waste dumping site (much trash around) Preserved_Specimen Herb with lax branches; stems pale, leaves light green, heavily eaten by something; flowers white or pale pink. Brock, K. 995 Kauai BISH 2017-05-24
9 Mirabilis jalapa Waimea District. Piwa Valley exclosure. Koaie Canyon. Lowland dry-mesic forest. W/ Aleurites moluccana, Lantana camara, Triumfetta semitriloba, Hibiscus waimeae subsp. waimeae, Psidium guajava, Ricinus communis, Syzgium cumini, Cordyline fruticosa, Coffea arabica, Plumbago zeyla Preserved_Specimen Large herb, about 3 feet tall. Tubular white flowers, closed (around noon). Corolla white. Stamens red/magenta. Flowers opened in the evening and very fragrant. Started to wilt immediately after collecting voucher specimens (within a few minutes). Walsh, S. 625 Kauai BISH 2018-09-10
10 Mirabilis jalapa Kamalo Growing near rd in shady, alien forest. Preserved_Specimen Oppenheimer, H.L. 110131 Molokai BISH 2001-11-18
11 Mirabilis jalapa Dillingham Airfield, cliffs above the military reservation Sapindus oahuensis forest, along with Erythrina sandwicensis, Leucaena leucocephala. Preserved_Specimen Herbaceous plant ca. 1 meter tall with very succulent stems. Flowers white and pink; fruit small, olive-shaped, black. Durand, L. Oahu BISH 2004-02-23
12 Mirabilis jalapa East Maui, Makawao District, Ulupalakua, near growing in a pasture in the shade of a Melia tree. Preserved_Specimen a 3 ft. tall herb with dark green leaves and white flowers. Herbst, D.R. 785 Maui BISH 1967-12-15
13 Mirabilis jalapa Just behind Haena Beach Under false kamani and java plum in sandy soil. Preserved_Specimen Corn, C. Kauai BISH 1978-06-15
14 Mirabilis jalapa U.H. Campus, Newman Center In full sun. Preserved_Specimen Compact, rounded herb 0.4 m tall. The flowers are canary with contracting scarlet anthers. The flower has a slight sweet fragrance (at early evening). Lau, J. 1333 Oahu BISH 1985-08-22
15 Mirabilis jalapa U.H. Campus, Newman Center In full sun. Preserved_Specimen Compact, rounded herb 0.4 m tall. The flowers are canary with contracting scarlet anthers. The flower has a slight sweet fragrance (at early evening). Lau, J. 1333 Oahu BISH 1985-08-22
16 Mirabilis jalapa Kamalo, Ka Pu Lei Ranch. Kukui-Java plum forest. Preserved_Specimen Common erect herb, 0.75 m tall. Leaves triangular-ovate to broadly triangular-subcordate. Flowers tube-shaped, in terminal glomerate cymes. Hughes, G.D. 16 Molokai BISH 1992-02-14
17 Mirabilis jalapa Old Naval Station, Honolulu, Oahu Preserved_Specimen Garber, D.W. 276 Oahu BISH 1930-03-06
18 Mirabilis jalapa East Maui, SW slope of Haleakala, Auwahi Dry forest, area mauka of Kaupo road Area dry, substrate aa, vegetation sparse, Rauvolfia, Nothocestrum, Planchonella, Lantana, Leucaena Preserved_Specimen Higashino, P.K. 9718 Maui BISH 1981-10-30
19 Mirabilis jalapa Ahihi-Kinau Natural Area Reserve, Kipuka at the head of the trail towards Pohaku Paea from the midstop along Makena-Keoneoio road Pockets of vegetation in a'a lava and at roadside. Scattered along roadside. Preserved_Specimen In fruit only. Abbott, I.A. 91.5 Maui BISH 1991-03-06
20 Mirabilis jalapa Waianae Mts., Pahole Road, Mokuleia Dry disturbed streambed, Megathyrsus maximus, Rivina humilIs associated. Preserved_Specimen Erect, branching shrub, herbaceous stems. Hoppe-Cruz, D. 546 Oahu BISH 2021-01-26
21 Mirabilis jalapa East Maui, 2.7 mi E of 'Ulupalakua Ranch on Piilani Hwy. ( Hwy. 31) On `a`a lava flow dominated by Wikstroemia, Reynoldsia, Leucaena, Lantana, and Myoporum (occasional). Preserved_Specimen Wagner, W.L. 4779 Maui BISH 1983-01-14
22 Mirabilis jalapa Puuwaawaa. Lower end near road Preserved_Specimen Fls. yellow Forbes, C.N. 58 Hawaii BISH 1911-01-01
23 Mirabilis jalapa Between Puuwaawaa and Huehue, Hawaii Preserved_Specimen fls. bright yellow - this color form is considered medicinal by Hawaiians. Naturalized in lava. Degener, O. 30275 Hawaii BISH 1926-08-22
24 Mirabilis jalapa Punaluu Preserved_Specimen Woody perennial, 3 ft. tall; petals pink to white, 2 in. long, stamens lavender. Fagerlund, G.O. 488 Hawaii BISH 1943-03-27
25 Mirabilis jalapa Honolulu, Oahu. T.Hawaii Preserved_Specimen Garden weed Degener, O. 9898 Oahu BISH 1930-01-01
26 Mirabilis jalapa East Maui, Haleakala National Park, behind the buildings at Oheo Baseyard Preserved_Specimen common four o'clock--marvel-of-Per Welton, P. 2319 Maui BISH 2012-10-18
27 Mirabilis jalapa P.T.B.G., Lawai Valley Preserved_Specimen Herb with large, tuberous root. Flowers white with red stamens. Native to tropical America. Occasional along edges of valley floor, mostly in nursery area. Herbst, D.R. 2326 Kauai BISH 1972-01-12
28 Mirabilis jalapa Schofield Road Preserved_Specimen Roadside weed. Bryan Jr., E.H. Oahu BISH 1929-02-10
29 Mirabilis jalapa Kealia Trail. Kealia. Waianae Mts Preserved_Specimen Ozaki, E.T. 5 Oahu BISH 1952-10-05
30 Mirabilis jalapa Below Castle Hospital Preserved_Specimen Smith, L.B. 90 Oahu BISH 1976-03-27
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