Slender-lobed four o'clock is an uncommon member of the genus inhabiting rocky slopes and washes to 1500' in the western Colorado Desert portions of Imperial, Riverside and San Diego Counties. It typically blooms from March to May. Also called long-lobed four o'clock, its flower is distinguished by narrowly lanceolate calyx lobes as shown in the second picture. It has adopted a trailing to erect habit, but can become a fairly good-sized bush covered with lovely white flowers that look very similar to other Mirabilis flowers. It is quite glandular-hairy and very sticky. The narrow- to broadly triangular leaves are ascending and can attain a length of 2", but are generally smaller than that. The narrowly bell-shaped involucres are crowded in the upper axils. The fruits are smooth ovoids, blackish-brown and glabrous. The stems are quite densely covered with fine, short, straight hairs. These pictures were taken in the Elephant Trees area near Ocotillo Wells in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Click here for Latin name derivations: 1) Mirabilis 2) tenuiloba.
Pronunciation: mi-RAB-il-is ten-yoo-i-LO-ba.
Click here for Botanical Term Meanings.