biology

Mirabilis multiflora

Mirabilis multiflora 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 multiflora rather than just read about it. In short: Mirabilis multiflora is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common names Colorado four-o'clock or desert four-o'clock that is native to the southwestern United States from California to Colorado and Texas, as well as far northern Mexico, where it grows in mostly dry habitat types in a number of regions. Description It is a perennial herb growing upright to about 80 centimetres (31 in…

Key takeaways

Mirabilis multiflora 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 multiflora to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mirabilis multiflora from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mirabilis multiflora is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common names Colorado four-o'clock or desert four-o'clock that is native to the southwestern United States from California to Colorado and Texas, as well as far northern Mexico, where it grows in mostly dry habitat types in a number of regions.

Description It is a perennial herb growing upright to about 80 centimetres (31 in) in maximum height. The leaves are oppositely arranged on the spreading stem branches. Each fleshy leaf has an oval or rounded blade up to 12 centimetres (4.7 in) long and is hairless or sparsely hairy. In winter, the plant dies back to the ground and its stem breaks off at ground level (leaving no hint of its root location), though it reemerges in mid winter or spring. It dies back in extreme drought as well. The flowers occur in leaf axils on the upper branches. Usually six flowers bloom in a bell-shaped involucre of five partly fused bracts. Each five-lobed, funnel-shaped flower is 4 to 6 centimetres (1.6 to 2.4 in) wide and magenta in color.

Taxonomy Mirabilis multiflora was given its first scientific description by the botanist John Torrey in 1827 with the name Oxybaphus multiflorus. It is described by Asa Gray in 1853 as Quamoclidion multiflorum and in 1859 with the accepted name as Mirabilis multiflora.

Names Mirabilis multiflora is known in English by the common name of "Colorado four-o'clock". It is also known as "desert four-o'clock", however it occasionally shares this common name with Mirabilis tenuiloba and with Mirabilis laevis var. retrorsa. It is also sometimes called the "showy four-o'clock" or "maravilla".

Uses Among the Zuni people, the powdered root is mixed with flour, made into a bread, and used to decrease appetite. An infusion of the root is taken and rubbed on the abdomen of hungry adults and children. An infusion of the powdered root is taken by adults or children after overeating.

Pollination M. multiflora's reproduction is dependent on hawkmoths for pollination. Two primary pollinators are the hawkmoths Hyles lineata and Manduca quinquemaculata.

Gallery

References

External links Jepson Manual Treatment Photo gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mirabilis multiflora

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mirabilis multiflora 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 multiflora 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 multiflora 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 multiflora

In research: Mirabilis multiflora 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 multiflora 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 multiflora is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Caryophyllales stubs, Flora of the Southwestern United States, Medicinal plant stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mirabilis multiflora 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 multiflora in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mirabilis multiflora 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 multiflora out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mirabilis multiflora in simple terms?

Why does Mirabilis multiflora 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 multiflora?

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 multiflora.