four-o'clock

four-o'clock
/fawr"euh klok', fohr"-/, n.
1. a common garden plant, Mirabilis jalapa, of the four-o'clock family, having tubular red, white, yellow, or variegated flowers that open late in the afternoon.
2. any plant of the same genus.
[1750-60]

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Ornamental perennial plant (Mirabilis jalapa; family Nyctaginaceae), also called marvel-of-Peru or beauty-of-the-night, native to the tropical New World.

It is a quick-growing species up to 3 ft (1 m) tall, with oval leaves on short leafstalks. The stems are swollen at the joints. The plant is called four-o'clock because its flowers, which vary from white and yellow to shades of pink and red, sometimes streaked and mottled, open in late afternoon (and close by morning).

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▪ plant
also called  marvel-of-Peru , or  beauty-of-the-night 
 (Mirabilis jalapa) ornamental perennial plant, of the family Nyctaginaceae, native to tropical America. Four-o'clock is a quick-growing species up to one metre (three feet) tall, with oval leaves on short leafstalks. The stems are swollen at the joints. The plant is called four-o'clock because its flowers, from white and yellow to shades of pink and red, sometimes streaked and mottled, open in late afternoon (and close by morning). There are 45 species in the Mirabilis genus of herbs.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Four-o'clock — n. 1. (Bot.) A plant of the genus {Mirabilis}. There are about half a dozen species, natives of the warmer parts of America. The common four o clock is {M. Jalapa}. Its flowers are white, yellow, and red, and open toward sunset, or earlier in cl …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • four-o'clock — [fôr′ə kläk΄] adj. designating a family (Nyctaginaceae, order Caryophyllales) of dicotyledonous plants, including the bougainvilleas n. any of a genus (Mirabilis) of chiefly tropical American plants of the four o clock family, bearing petal less… …   English World dictionary

  • four-o'clock — см. Приложение 1 (Mirabilis jalapa). (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • four-o’clock — four o’clock. См. ночная красавица. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • four-o'clock — four′ o clock n. pln any plant of the genus Mirabilis, having tubular flowers that open in the late afternoon • Etymology: 1750–60 …   From formal English to slang

  • Four O'Clock — Infobox Television episode Title = Four O Clock Series = The Twilight Zone Caption = Theodore Bikel in Four O Clock Season = 3 Episode = 94 Airdate =April 6, 1962 Production =4832 Writer =Rod Serling (Based on the story by Price Day. First… …   Wikipedia

  • four o'clock — noun any of several plants of the genus Mirabilis having flowers that open in late afternoon • Hypernyms: ↑flower • Hyponyms: ↑common four o clock, ↑marvel of Peru, ↑Mirabilis jalapa, ↑Mirabilis uniflora, ↑California four o c …   Useful english dictionary

  • four-o'clock — vakarinė dyvinutė statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Dyvinutinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, vaistinis augalas (Mirabilis jalapa), kilęs iš Meksikos. atitikmenys: lot. Mirabilis jalapa angl. beauty of the night; common four o’clock; false jalap;… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • four-o'clock — ˈ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun 1. : a plant of the genus Mirabilis: as a. : a common garden plant (M. jalapa) with fragrant yellow, red, or white flowers that open late in the afternoon called also marvel of Peru b. : a California plant (M. laevis) with red …   Useful english dictionary

  • four-o'clock — marvel of Peru marvel of Peru, marvel of Peru marvel of Peru n. (Bot.) A common garden plant ({Mirabilis jalapa} or {Mirabilis uniflora}) of North America having fragrant red or purple or yellow or white flowers that open in late afternoon;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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