Mirabilis Longiflorum

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

Long-flowered mirabilis (lat. Mirabilis longiflora) - a herbaceous flowering perennial plant of the genus Mirabilis (lat. Mirabilis), reckoned with the Niktaginaceae family (lat. Nyctaginaceae). According to its decorative data, perhaps, it can compete with everyone's favorite, Mirabilis jalapa, called "Night Beauty". Its bushes up to one meter high with branching stems, sticky large leaves and long light and very fragrant flowers will not leave anyone indifferent. The plant is native to the southwest of the United States of America.

What's in your name

The first word of the plant name "Mirabilis" is a generic Latin name that botanists assign when they classify the plant world. Translated from Latin, we get the word "amazing" or "wonderful", of which both are appropriate when it comes to the picturesque decorative qualities of certain species of the genus, or other amazing abilities of plants of the genus, for example, tasty and nutritious roots.

The specific Latin epithet "longiflora" in translation into Russian means "long-flowered" and does not need additional explanations, one has only to look at a flowering plant or at least a photograph of a flowering plant. The length of the flower tube, varying from 7 to 18 centimeters, impresses the viewer and once again emphasizes the correct choice of the name of the genus - "Mirabilis".

Description

Longiflorum mirabilis is a herbaceous perennial plant, the height of which depends on living conditions and varies from 50 to 150 centimeters.

Erect branched thin stems bear petiolate bright green leaves. The leaves are quite long, reaching a length of 12 centimeters. The shape of the leaves is lanceolate-ovate or ovate, with a sharp tip and a pronounced central light vein. Lateral veins are less prominent.

In the axils of the leaves or at the ends of the stems, compact inflorescences are born, formed by flowers with a long tube and a five-petal light corolla. The base of the flower tube is protected by a green calyx of incompletely accrete sepals, ending in triangular unequal lobes. Five stamens protrude from the tube on curling light purple threads, the length of which exceeds the length of the entire flower.

Flowers open at dusk, exuding the most delicate aroma. As the sun rises, the petals cover the flower tube. The petals are usually white.

Growing

Since the long-flowered Mirabilis is native to the southwestern United States of America, the plant is quite thermophilic. However, people manage to grow this species in climatic zone 5, which allows temperatures to drop to minus 29 degrees Celsius.

However, critical temperatures by zones do not provide for a long period of validity of the critical mark of the thermometer for a given zone, but speak of their short-term action. In addition, the plant is influenced not only by the air temperature, but also by the air humidity. That is why it happens that thermophilic perennial plants successfully survive the winter period without prolonged severe frosts.

Although Mirabilis longiflorum opens its petals at dusk, closing its flower tube when the sun's rays appear, the plant prefers places that are open to the sun.

Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out from February to April. The compost in the container should be moist, but not wet. Seedlings appear at an air temperature of 20 to 25 degrees in 1-3 weeks.

Before planting in open ground, the seedlings are gradually accustomed to a colder temperature for several weeks. They are planted in open ground after the risk of recurrent frost is zero. The distance between the seedlings is left equal to 30 centimeters.