biology

Mirabilis (plant)

Mirabilis (plant) is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mirabilis (plant) rather than just read about it. In short: Mirabilis is a genus of plants in the family Nyctaginaceae known as the four-o'clocks or umbrellaworts. The best known species may be Mirabilis jalapa, the plant most commonly called four o'clock.

Key takeaways

Mirabilis (plant) belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mirabilis (plant) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mirabilis (plant) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mirabilis is a genus of plants in the family Nyctaginaceae known as the four-o'clocks or umbrellaworts. The best known species may be Mirabilis jalapa, the plant most commonly called four o'clock. There are several dozen species in the genus, of herbaceous plants, mostly found in the Americas. Some form tuberous roots that enable them to perennate through dry and cool seasons. They have small, often fragrant, deep-throated flowers.

Description Raphides are found in at least the flower and in abundance in the leaves and stem of at least M. violacea. In all examined species, raphides were found in the root, leaves, calyx, corolla, and also, but smaller and more tender, in the stamens, pistil, ovary, ovule, spermoderm and seed-leaves.

Uses Although best known as ornamental plants, at least one species, mauka (M. expansa), is grown for food.

Selected species Mirabilis albida (Walter) Heimerl Mirabilis alipes (S.Watson) Pilz Mirabilis coccinea (Torr.) Benth. & Hook.f. Mirabilis elegans (Choisy) Heimerl Mirabilis expansa (Ruiz & Pav.) Standl. Mirabilis greenei S.Watson Mirabilis himalaica (Edgew.) Heimerl Mirabilis himalaica var. chinensis Heimerl Mirabilis himalaica var. himalaica Mirabilis jalapa L. Mirabilis laevis (Benth.) Curran Mirabilis laevis var. crassifolia (Choisy) Spellenb. Mirabilis laevis var. laevis Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa (A.Heller) Jeps. Mirabilis laevis var. villosa (Kellogg) Spellenb. Mirabilis linearis (Pursh) Heimerl Mirabilis linearis var. decipiens (Standl.) S.L.Welsh Mirabilis linearis var. linearis Mirabilis linearis var. subhispida (Heimerl) Spellenb. Mirabilis longiflora L. Mirabilis macfarlanei Constance & Rollins Mirabilis multiflora (Torr.) A.Gray Mirabilis nyctaginea (Michx.) MacMill. Mirabilis oblongifolia Mirabilis oxybaphoides (A.Gray) A.Gray Mirabilis pumila Mirabilis rotundifolia (Greene) Standl. Mirabilis tenuiloba Mirabilis violacea (L.) Heimerl Mirabilis viscosa Cav.

References

Bibliography Gulliver, George (1864). "Observations on Raphides and other Crystals". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Including Zoology, Botany, and Geology. Third Series. 14: 250–252.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mirabilis (plant)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mirabilis (plant) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mirabilis (plant) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mirabilis (plant) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mirabilis (plant)

In research: Mirabilis (plant) appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mirabilis (plant) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mirabilis (plant) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus, Caryophyllales stubs, Mirabilis (plant), so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mirabilis (plant) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mirabilis (plant) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mirabilis (plant) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mirabilis (plant) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mirabilis (plant) in simple terms?

Mirabilis is a genus of plants in the family Nyctaginaceae known as the four-o'clocks or umbrellaworts. The best known species may be Mirabilis jalapa, the plant most commonly called four o'clock.

Why does Mirabilis (plant) matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mirabilis (plant)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mirabilis (plant).