Scarlet Four-O'Clock
Mirabilis coccinea
(Oxybaphus coccineus)
Photographed in Rackensack Canyon, Maricopa Co., Arizona, USA on Aug 3, 2008.
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FLOWERS: Bright red, tubular flowers. Several flowers subtended by a
bowl-like involucre. Without green sepals. Blooming late spring or summer
highly dependent on rainfall. Attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds.
RANGE: Rare in the Sonoran Desert - more likely to be found in higher
altitude habitats such as piñon or even ponderosa woods. In the Sonoran
Desert look in partially shaded and woody canyons on rocky slopes.
ANNUAL: Upright herbaceous plant with bi- or tri-furcating branching
habit. Some plants may lean on adjacent shrubs and reach a length of
one meter.
LEAVES: Leaves are opposite on the stems at partly enlarged nodes.
Almost linear, fleshy and gray-green with wavy margins.
FRUIT: Appearing like a small lantern with five ribs enclosing a single
seed. Two or more of these fruits may be clustered together surrounded by a
star-shaped bract.
UNARMED