Characteristics of herbaceous plants and an introduction to common species

Marvel of Peru (Mirabilis jalapa): a herbaceous plant, up to 1 m tall. The root is thick and fleshy, obconical, black or blackish brown. The stem is erect, cylindrical, much branched, hairless or sparsely covered with fine soft hairs, with slightly swollen nodes. The leaves are ovate or ovate-triangular, entire, hairless on both surfaces, with raised veins. The flowers are usually several clustered at the branch tips; the involucre is bell-shaped, about 1 cm long, 5-lobed, with the lobes triangular-ovate; the perianth is purplish red, yellow, white or variegated, salverform, with the tube 2-6 cm long and the limb 2.5-3 cm in diameter, shallowly 5-lobed; the flowers open in the afternoon, are fragrant, and wither before noon the next day. The achene is spherical, 5-8 mm in diameter, leathery, black, with a wrinkled surface; the seed endosperm is white and powdery. Flowering period June-October, fruiting period August-November.

Marvel of Peru

Native to tropical America. It is often cultivated across northern and southern China as an ornamental flower, and sometimes escapes to the wild. The roots and leaves can be used medicinally, with effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, invigorating blood and regulating menstruation, and providing nourishment. The white powder of the seeds can remove facial spots, moles and acne.

Marvel of Peru

It likes mild and humid climatic conditions and is not cold-tolerant; in winter the aboveground parts die back, while in the Jiangnan region the underground parts can overwinter safely and become a perennial herbaceous flower, sending up new plants again in spring the following year. Open-ground cultivation requires deep, loose and fertile loam, while pot cultivation can use general flower growing medium. It grows even better in slightly shaded places. The flowers open from evening to early morning and close under strong light; if there is shade in summer, it grows and blooms well, while under intense summer heat and direct sun it often loses leaves. It likes a well-ventilated environment, and in summer it has a mosquito-repelling effect.

Marvel of Peru

Blue jasmine and Marvel of Peru are not in the same family or genus as jasmine. Jasmine belongs to the genus Jasminum in the family Oleaceae, an evergreen shrub or vine; blue jasmine belongs to the genus Plumbago in the family Plumbaginaceae, an evergreen semi-climbing or upright shrub; while Marvel of Peru belongs to the genus Mirabilis in the family Nyctaginaceae, a perennial herbaceous plant.

Plant culture:

Marvel of Peru flower meaning: chastity, simplicity, delicacy, conjecture, suspicion, mature beauty, timidity, cowardice.