Marvel-of-Peru
Mirabilis jalapa
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Height
- 1.5–4 feet
- Spread
- 1–2 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual or perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
Not yet recorded · Bloom
Recorded in 6 Virginia counties.
Who uses this plant?
5CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Mirabilis
- Disclisioprocta stellataSomber Carpet, Bougainvillea Looper
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Mirabilis
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Plant details
- Family
- Nyctaginaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 9a–10b
- Flower color
- Yellow, pink, purple, variegated or white
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Yellow, pink, purple, variegated or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 9a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1.5–4 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual or perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “1–2 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Four O Clock; Four Oclock; Fouroclock; Garden Four O Clock; Garden Four Oclock; Garden Fouroclock; Marvel Of Peru; Marvelofperu; Morning Rose; Morningrose
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications