Scientific Family
Nyctaginaceae
Synonyms
Mirabilis albida, Allionia pumila, Oxybaphus pumilus
Other common names
white four o'clock
little four-o'clock
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
4 to 20 inches
Riparian
No
Stems few to many from a woody root, erect to decumbent, much branched, sparsely to densely leafy, smooth to hairy.
Leaf blades barely longer than wide; stems much branched, sticky with long soft hairs; 5-parted calyx is pale pink; whorl of united bracts is enlarged and papery in fruit; fruit strongly 5-angled.
Habitat
Meadows, roadsides, canyons, pinyon-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine forests, sandy soils.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
3000
High elevation
7500
Flower Characteristics
Broadly funnel-shaped.
Flower color
Pale pink to purple
Flower shape
Bell-shaped
Tubular
No
First bloom month
June
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves basal and on stems, thin and fleshy to thick and leathery, green to blue-gray, smooth to sticky and hairy, with or without stem. Leaf blades mostly triangular, sometimes ovate, to 2-1/3 inches long and about as wide.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Ovoid, tapering on both ends with minute glandular hairs and 5 prominent ribs.
Fruit type
Achene
Egg-shaped seed up to 1/2 inch long is attached at the narrow end.