Scientific Family
Nyctaginaceae
Synonyms
Allionia (7 varieties), Mirabilis (10 varieties), Oxybaphus (5 varieties)
Other common names
mountain four-o'clock
pale umbrella-wort
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
2-1/2 to 5 feet
Riparian
No
Perennial herb, 2-1/2 to 5 feet tall; stems erect to decumbent (trailing with tip ascending), branching; herbage often hairy, especially the upper portions of the plant.
Typically well branched, stems erect to trailing; leaves opposite, narrow, oval or triangular, hairy or not; whorl of bracts below flowers green or blushed with red, covered with light hairs, flowers terminal or in leaf axils; fruits hairy, 5-ribbed.
Habitat
Found in dry meadows, sandy prairies, hillsides, rocky soils, and often on slopes.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
3500
High elevation
6500
Flower Characteristics
White to pink or purple, in clusters at end of stem, or occasionally solitary in leaf axils, each cluster of 2 to 3 flowers is enclosed by a bell-shaped involucre (cup-like whorl of bracts), on hairy stalks, 1/16 to 1 inch long; 5 stamens.
Flower color
White to pink or purple
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
May
Last bloom month
October
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Opposite and stalkless or on stalks up to 1-1/2 inches long; blades narrow to oval or triangular, 1/2 to 4 inches long, green to glaucous (waxy) blue-gray, smooth to hairy, thin and fleshy to thick and leathery, 2 per stem node.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green to blue-gray
Leaf shape
Triangular
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Achenes 1/4 inch long, obovoid (egg-shaped, broader at tip) with 5 longitudinal ribs, surface brown to dark brown with pale tan, brown, or dark brown ribs, hairy, and usually wrinkled or covered with warts; fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Brown to dark brown