Flower profile

Wild Four o'Clock

Mirabilis nyctaginea

Wild Four o'Clock (Mirabilis nyctaginea) is a flowering plant in the Nyctaginaceae family, native in the lower 48 states, blooming mostly May–June across the U.S.

Native in the lower 48

Wild Four o'Clock is a wildflower that USDA PLANTS lists as native in the lower 48 states. It's on our flower lists for 3 states, and across the U.S. it's most often seen in bloom in May–June.

42states where USDA records it

3Bloomipedia state lists include it

6,241U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska

Quick look

Mirabilis nyctaginea is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by several common names, including wild four o'clock, heartleaf four o'clock, and heartleaf umbrella wort.
From Wikipedia's article Mirabilis nyctaginea, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Nyctaginaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
USDA PLANTS lists it as native in the lower 48 states and records it in 42 states. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as native to Minnesota, Kansas and Nebraska. ^NatureServe
In Minnesota, most iNaturalist sightings of it in flower come in June. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 1,454 research-grade sightings of it in Minnesota, ranking #96 among the 152 flowers on our Minnesota list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 363 research-grade sightings of it in Kansas, ranking #70 among the 151 flowers on our Kansas list. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 282 research-grade sightings of it in Nebraska, ranking #47 among the 147 flowers on our Nebraska list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (426 records)

Bloom time in the 3 states whose Bloomipedia list includes it

State	Type	Peak bloom	Sightings*
Minnesota	Native	June	1,454
Kansas	Native	few records (12)	363
Nebraska	Native	few records (33)	282

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed Not listed under the Endangered Species Act. USFWS ECOS does track it with the label “Species of Concern,” which is informal and gives no legal protection. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: G5 Secure worldwide. ^NatureServe
Minnesota: Not listed Not on Minnesota endangered, threatened and special concern plants (Minn. R. 6134.0300). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Minnesota. ^{Minn. R. 6134.0300}
Kansas: No list Kansas's endangered and threatened list (K.A.R. 115-15-1) covers animals only, so we show NatureServe's Kansas ranks for plants. NatureServe: S5, secure in Kansas.
Nebraska: Not listed Not on Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004). NatureServe: SNR, not yet ranked in Nebraska. ^{163 NAC 4-004}
Rare elsewhere: Other states where NatureServe ranks it rare or missing: NV (S1). (S1 critically imperiled, S2 imperiled, SH possibly extirpated, SX presumed extirpated.)

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records wild Four o'Clock in 42 states plus Washington, D.C.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming; District of Columbia.

Minnesota counties with USDA records: Aitkin, Anoka, Becker, Beltrami, Benton, Big Stone, Blue Earth, Brown, Carlton, Carver, Cass, Chippewa, Chisago, Clay, Clearwater, Cottonwood, Dakota, Dodge, Douglas, Faribault, Freeborn, Goodhue, Grant, Hennepin, Houston, Hubbard, Itasca, Jackson, Kittson, Lac qui Parle, Lake of the Woods, Le Sueur, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, McLeod, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Mower, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Norman, Olmsted, Otter Tail, Pine, Pipestone, Polk, Pope, Ramsey, Redwood, Renville, Rice, Rock, Scott, Sherburne, Sibley, St. Louis, Stearns, Steele, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wabasha, Wadena, Waseca, Washington, Watonwan, Wilkin, Winona, Wright.

Kansas counties with USDA records: Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Barber, Barton, Bourbon, Brown, Butler, Chase, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Clark, Clay, Cloud, Coffey, Comanche, Cowley, Crawford, Decatur, Dickinson, Doniphan, Douglas, Edwards, Elk, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Franklin, Geary, Gove, Graham, Gray, Greeley, Greenwood, Harper, Harvey, Haskell, Hodgeman, Jackson, Jefferson, Jewell, Johnson, Kearny, Kingman, Kiowa, Labette, Lane, Leavenworth, Lincoln, Linn, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Miami, Mitchell, Montgomery, Morris, Morton, Nemaha, Neosho, Ness, Norton, Osage, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Pottawatomie, Pratt, Rawlins, Reno, Republic, Rice, Riley, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Scott, Sedgwick, Seward, Shawnee, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stevens, Sumner, Thomas, Trego, Wabaunsee, Wallace, Washington, Wilson, Woodson, Wyandotte.

Nebraska counties with USDA records: Adams, Boone, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Butler, Cedar, Cherry, Cuming, Custer, Dawes, Dixon, Douglas, Franklin, Gage, Garfield, Greeley, Hall, Holt, Hooker, Jefferson, Kearney, Keith, Knox, Lancaster, Lincoln, Nuckolls, Otoe, Pierce, Red Willow, Richardson, Sarpy, Saunders, Scotts Bluff, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Valley, Washington, Webster.

Names, range and relatives

Native status by region (USDA PLANTS): Canada: Native; Lower 48 states: Native.

Other scientific names (synonyms in USDA PLANTS): Allionia nyctaginea, Mirabilis collina, Oxybaphus nyctagineus.

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 933 counties across 40 states; the most are in Kansas (100), Illinois (95), Missouri (82).

Other Mirabilis on Bloomipedia (3): Wishbone bush, Marvel of Peru, Colorado Four o'Clock.

More from the Nyctaginaceae family (9 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Trailing windmills, Scarlet spiderling, Great basin sand verbena, Snowball sand verbena, Purple sand verbena, Bougainvillea.

More Minnesota flowers

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea glabra

🌷 Flowering shrub

🌷 Grown in Minnesota gardens

Common milkweed

Asclepias syriaca

Native

🌼 Blooms in MN: June–July

Bloodroot

Sanguinaria canadensis

Native

🌼 Blooms in MN: April–May

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile MINY.
iNaturalist, Mirabilis nyctaginea: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Mirabilis nyctaginea (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Minnesota: Minnesota endangered, threatened and special concern plants (Minn. R. 6134.0300).
Minnesota: Minnesota Noxious Weed List (Minn. Stat. § 18.79; Minnesota Department of Agriculture, updated January 2026).
Kansas: Kansas noxious weeds (K.A.R. 4-8-44, as amended 2026).
Nebraska: Nebraska threatened and endangered species (163 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 4, § 004).
Nebraska: Nebraska noxious weeds (25 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 10, § 001.02).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Mirabilis nyctaginea (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Tom Scavo via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.