Mirabilis alipes
Encyclopedia
Mirabilis alipes is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family
known by the common name winged four o'clock. It is native to the southwestern United States from eastern California
to western Colorado
, where it grows in brush, woodland, and dry mountain slope habitat. It is a perennial herb growing in a clump near 40 centimeters tall and up to 80 centimeters wide. The leaves are oppositely arranged on the spreading stem branches. Each fleshy leaf has an oval or rounded blade up to 7 or 9 centimeters long and is hairless or sparsely hairy. The flowers occur in leaf axils on the upper branches. Five to nine flowers bloom from a cup-shaped involucre of several partly fused bract
s. Each five-lobed flower is about 1.5 centimeters wide and magenta in color; cream-colored flowers are also known.
Nyctaginaceae
Nyctaginaceae, the Four O'Clock Family, is a family of around 33 genera and 290 species of flowering plants, widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, with a few representatives in temperate regions...
known by the common name winged four o'clock. It is native to the southwestern United States from eastern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to western Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, where it grows in brush, woodland, and dry mountain slope habitat. It is a perennial herb growing in a clump near 40 centimeters tall and up to 80 centimeters wide. The leaves are oppositely arranged on the spreading stem branches. Each fleshy leaf has an oval or rounded blade up to 7 or 9 centimeters long and is hairless or sparsely hairy. The flowers occur in leaf axils on the upper branches. Five to nine flowers bloom from a cup-shaped involucre of several partly fused bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s. Each five-lobed flower is about 1.5 centimeters wide and magenta in color; cream-colored flowers are also known.