Bloomipedia
Wild Four o'Clock (Mirabilis nyctaginea)
Photo: Tom Scavo via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized

Flower profile

Wild Four o'Clock

Mirabilis nyctaginea

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–July.

42states
3of our state lists
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.

  • 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 May–July. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 1,454 research-grade sightings of it in Minnesota, ranking #96 among the 110 flowers on our Minnesota list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 363 research-grade sightings of it in Kansas, ranking #70 among the 109 flowers on our Kansas list. iNaturalist
  • iNaturalist has 282 research-grade sightings of it in Nebraska, ranking #47 among the 108 flowers on our Nebraska list. iNaturalist

Wild Four o'Clock gift ideas

Handmade wild four o'clock gifts from independent makers.

🌱 Sample spot. Handmade gift picks from independent shops will appear here once our shop partnership is approved. These cards are placeholders, not real products.

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    Wild Four o'Clock art print

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    Wild Four o'Clock greeting card

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    Wild Four o'Clock mug

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    Wild Four o'Clock earrings

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    Wild Four o'Clock embroidery pattern

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    Wild Four o'Clock sticker

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When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (426 records)
Bloom time in each of our 3 states
StateTypePeak bloomSightings*
MinnesotaNativeMay–July1,454
KansasNativefew records363
NebraskaNativeMay–October282

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.

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.

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Sources