Mirabilis

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Mirabilis (lat. Mirabilis) - a number-average genus (50 species) of herbaceous plants with beautiful flowering, belonging to the Niktaginaceae family (lat. Nyctaginaceae). Since the plant opens its funnel-shaped or bell-shaped flowers in the afternoon, towards evening, filling the evening and night air with the delicate aroma of a multi-colored community, the plants were awarded the popular name "Night Beauty". Unpretentiousness to living conditions makes plants popular decorators for summer cottages.

What's in your name

It is interesting that the synonym for the name of the plant family "Niktaginovye" is the word "Night flowers", which directly indicates the distinctive feature of plants collected in one commonwealth, to dissolve flower corollas in the evening and night hours of the day. That is why the genus Mirabilis is included in this family. And this way of life of plants is associated with their commonwealth in nature with moths, which pollinate bisexual flowers of plants, feeding on their pollen on warm nights.

The Latin name of the genus "Mirabilis" is translated into Russian as "wonderful" or "amazing", with which everyone will agree, having met a flowering specimen of the ornamental species of the genus.

Description

The taproot of perennial herbaceous plants helps them withstand prolonged drought or cold seasons by storing nutrients and moisture in the root tubers. Among the plants of the genus, there are also annual species.

Erect or creeping branchy stems appear from the root to the surface of the earth. They can be naked, woody in the lower part, or pubescent. Often the surface of the stem is covered with a sticky coating.

Large, elongated, heart-shaped leaves sit in pairs on the stem opposite each other, or have short petioles. The shape of the leaf plate is practically symmetrical with respect to the light central, pronounced vein.

In the axils of the leaves or at the tops of the stems, there are multi-flowered inflorescences. They are surrounded by light green leaf-shaped bracts. The inflorescences are formed by rather large funnel-shaped or bell-shaped bisexual flowers that open their corollas in the evening and at night, since pollination occurs with the help of moths. The capitate stigma of the pistil rises above the stamens, the number of which can be from three to six.

It seems that the color of the flower petals has absorbed all the colors of the heavenly rainbow and their various shades. Moreover, one bush can be decorated with flowers of different colors, and individual flowers can be dazzled with several colors at once. So, it is difficult to find a more suitable name for the genus of plants.

The surface of the radially symmetric fruit of plants of the genus Mirabilis can be pubescent or bare, hard or smooth.

Varieties

* Mirabilis jalapa (Latin Mirabilis jalapa), or Mirabilis laxative. It is this view that has earned the synonym "Night Beauty".

* Mirabilis round-leaved (Latin Mirabilis rotundifolia)

* Mirabilis wide (lat. Mirabilis expansa)

* Mirabilis bright red (lat. Mirabilis coccinea)

* Mirabilis smooth (lat. Mirabilis laevis)

* Mirabilis longiflora (lat. Mirabilis longiflora)

* Mirabilis multiflora (Latin Mirabilis multiflora)

* Violet Mirabilis (Latin Mirabilis violacea)

* Shrub Mirabilis (Latin Mirabilis suffruticosa).

Usage

Some species of the genus, the leader among which is Mirabilis jalapa, or "Night Beauty", are ornamental plants that adorn summer cottages in the evening and at night, and there are those that bloom during the day. In addition to bright colors, they give their owners a pleasant aroma at a time when the flowers open their petals.

Plants are a source of dyes, including food dyes used to decorate confectionery. They are used in the cosmetic industry, as well as in folk medicine. In lean years, the leaves of Mirabilis are quite suitable for nutrition.