四点花

By Ouyang Yu


这是紫茉莉，学名 Mirabilis jalapa，英文常叫 “Four o’clock flower”（四点花）。

你照片里的特征很典型：喇叭状花管，颜色鲜艳的玫红/紫红色，花萼外面包着一圈像小星星一样的绿色苞片，叶子对生、偏心形。它通常在下午或傍晚开放，所以才叫“四点花”。

在墨尔本这种气候里，它通常作为一年生草花种，但其实根是块状的，冬天不严重霜冻的话，第二年会自己再冒出来。自播能力很强，种一次可能年年有。

给你个实在提醒：它长得快、种子多，如果不想它满院子跑，花谢后及时剪掉结果的部分。要是不介意自然野趣，它会自己管理自己，很省心。

你这是在路边拍的还是自家院子？这种花一旦落地生根，几年后会成一小片。

 

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