Four-o'clocks
What are they?
A family of mostly tropical plants with a number of species extending northward into North America. A very variable family, the four o-clocks get their name from the habit of some species to open their flowers in late afternoon into the evening and which are largely pollinated by moths.
Where are they found?
No members of this family are native in the Cape May region but some are grown as insect attractants in gardens and may occasionally appear as strays on roadsides and waste places.
Identification
Four O'clocks can mostly be identified by their opposite leaves and open-panicled flower structures. The flowers are often confusing as they arise from within a petal-like structure called an involucre. The involucre is usually dull grayish-pink or greenish and swells after the flowers have dropped, giving a false impression of a plant with dull-colored flowers.
Heart-leaved Four-o'clock Mirabilis nyctaginea
Though considered native further northwest in New Jersey, this species appears to merely be a casual of roadsides and waste places in Cape May. Flowers May to September. Flowers are bright carmine pink but open in late afternoon and drop by the following morning, so are easily missed. After flowering, a petal-like involucre surrounds the developing seed capsules and could easily give the false impression of a dull-colored flower.
 |
|
|
|
| |
|
flowering |
|