# Mirabilis longiflora

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{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = SWEET FOUR-O’CLOCK (7690803034).jpg
|image_caption = 
|genus = Mirabilis
|species = longiflora
|authority = [L.](/source/Carl_Linnaeus)
}}

'''''Mirabilis longiflora''''', also known as the '''sweet four o'clock'''<ref>{{PLANTS|id=MILO2|taxon=Mirabilis longiflora|accessdate=13 July 2015}}</ref> or the '''long-flowered four o'Clock''',<ref name=wild>[https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=MILO2 Mirabilis longiflora] Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA. Retrieved 8 April 2024.</ref> is a species of flowering plant native to the [southwestern United States](/source/southwestern_United_States) and northern [Mexico](/source/Mexico). The flowers open in the late afternoon and bloom through the night, hence the name. 

==Description==
left|thumb|Flowers
It is a [herbaceous](/source/herbaceous), tender [perennial](/source/perennial) species that grows up to 150 cm high (5 feet). It has upright, thin stems that branch densely from the base. [Petiolate](/source/Petiole_(botany)) leaves between 6 and 11.5 cm long and 3 to 7 cm wide in [ovate](/source/Ovate_(botany)) or lanceo-ovate shape, bright green in color.

===Inflorescences===
The inflorescences are terminal or [axillary](/source/Axillary_bud), very compact, with linear and foliar [bract](/source/bract)s. The involvements are bell-shaped, 1 to 1.5 cm long, with unequal triangular or slightly lanceolate lobes. The flower has a [perianth](/source/perianth) 8 to 17 cm long, 5 [stamen](/source/stamen)s, brush-shaped [stigma](/source/Stigma_(botany)). The fruit is an elliptical or oblong dark-colored [achene](/source/achene) about 8 mm long by 5 mm wide. 

Flower colour is white to pinkish with a reddish or purplish throat. This species is a nocturnal flowerer, whose long, narrow, strongly-scented, tubular flowers (approaching 17 centimeters in maximum length) exhale a fragrant aroma at nights.<ref name=wild/> 

==Distribution and habitat==
Native to southwestern United States, from [Arizona](/source/Arizona) to [Texas](/source/Texas) and [northern Mexico](/source/northern_Mexico), it is found in [scrubby](/source/Shrubland) canyons and [riverbank](/source/riverbank)s.<ref name=wild/>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
SWEET FOUR O'CLOCK (Mirabilis longiflora) (7-14-11) patagonia-sonoita creek preserve, scc, az -01 (5937533729).jpg|Flower detail
Mirabilis longiflora 01.JPG|Grown in clumps at the [University of Latvia Botanical Garden](/source/University_of_Latvia_Botanical_Garden)
Mirabilis longiflora0.jpg|Emerging flower
Mirabilis longiflora5.jpg|Long tubular flowers
Mirabilis longiflora - Flickr - peganum.jpg|As a [rock garden](/source/rock_garden) plant on raised a [garden bed](/source/garden_bed)
</gallery>

==References==
{{Commons category|Mirabilis longiflora}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2356547}}

longiflora
Category:Night-blooming plants
Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Category:Garden plants of North America
Category:Flora of Arizona
Category:Flora of Texas
Category:Flora of Mexico
Category:Flora of Northwestern Mexico

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mirabilis longiflora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabilis_longiflora) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirabilis_longiflora?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.