Wild four O Clocks

Wild four O Clocks (Mirabilis nyctaginea)

        A native plant found in most of the United States, the Wild Four O’Clock grows in dry open areas such as prairies and fields and blooms from mid spring through the summer.
       A member of the Four O’Clock (Nyctaginaceae) family it grows to three feet tall and produces dark pink to purple ½ inch flowers . The flowers have no petals but five petal-like sepals.
       The flowers which open late (4 O’clock?) in the afternoon for a few hours, fall off by the following morning. The remaining bracts, which look somewhat like flowers, are often mistaken for the flowers.
       Various parts of the plant have a variety of medicinal uses including the root for treatment of cuts, burns, fevers and worms and the leaves for the treatment of bladder disorders.
        It is not recommended that these plants be used as medicine or food since they may have bad side effects. Similar species, misidentified, may cause illness or death.