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Wild four o'clock flowers occur in clusters of 3-5, nestled in a five-lobed, saucer-shaped green bract (often with purplish tints) folded into a boxy shape; a typical calyx is absent. Instead, the flowers "petals" are a trumpet-shaped modified calyx with five notched lobes, 1/2" across and magenta in color; the 3-5 stamens protrude from the flower and have yellow anthers while the single slender pink style is even longer than the stamens, terminating in a stigma shaped like a pin head. After fertilization, the bract opens out into a whitish, pentagonal saucer (often with purplish highlights on the margins) with five radiating ridges; the rough, black, hairy seeds are suspended from the center. It is easy to mistake the mature bract for an odd flower, but a "flower" that attaches directly to the flower pedicel and lacks any trace of other flower parts (including the stamens and pistil). It's often claimed that the flowers tend to open in the late afternoon, but the wild four o'clock in Jackson Park happily open any time of day, including the morning.

Mirabilis

Mirabilis nyctaginea

wild four-o'clock [Blooms: Jun-Sep]