Studies on the propagation and behavior of some biotypes of Mirabilis jalapa L.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51258/RJH.2025.23Keywords:
four o'clock flower, annual plant, propagation, morphological characterisAbstract
Nowadays, worldwide, but also in Romania, there is an enormous demand for Mirabilis jalapa L., a popular ornamental plant for landscaping design, due to the beauty of its flowers, but also for its use in traditional medicine. This study highlights some contributions regarding generative propagation in Mirabilis jalapa L., which is appreciated, especially as a decorative plant, alone or in different combinations, but also for its uses, mainly in medicine. Experience shows that Mirabilis jalapa L. can be easily used as a teaching plant in the practical study of plant morphology and physiology, as well as in the demonstration of certain genetic particularities. In this experiment, seeds from 4 biotypes with flowers of different colors (red, pink, white, and yellow) were tested for germination percentage and number of viable plants, under greenhouse conditions. The morphological characteristics of theseeds and the plants obtained from these were also evaluated. The maximum germination percentage was 100% for the red flower variant, followed by the yellow flower variant, with a percentage of 95%. The germination interval is between 6 and 20 days, with a maximum at 15 days after sowing.The most vigorous was the white-flowered variant, which had a maximum height (110.3 cm) and also the largest diameter (60.9 cm). The seeds are relatively large, generally ranging between 6.6 and 8.8 mm in height and 4.0 and 5.7 mm in diameter, respectively.
Downloads
References
Al-Snafi, A.E., Talab, T.A., Jabbar, W.M. and Alqahtani, A.M. (2021). Chemical constituents and pharmacological activities of Mirabilis jalapa-A review. International Journal of Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences Archive. 01(02): 034–045. https://doi.org/10.30574/ijbpsa.2021.1.2.0303.
Ardelean, M., Sestraș, R. and Cordea, M. (2002). Tehnică experimental horticolă (Experimental horticultural technique). Ed. AcademicPres Cluj-Napoca. (In Romanian).
Argade, A.S. and Solanki, H. (2021). A brief review on: Mirabilis jalapa plant. International Journal of Pharmaceutical Researchand Applications. 6(3): 519-525.Doi: 10.35629/7781-0603519525.
Campbell, K. (2019).Mirabilis jalapa extract can offer big relief for sensitive skin. ASCP SKIN DEEP:36-37.
Disha N.S., AshokKumar B.S., Mamatha H.S. andKhalid M. (2024). Phytochemical composition and neuroprotective potential of Mirabilis jalapa: a review. Journal of medical pharmaceutical and allied sciences. 13(6):6855 – 6870.
Engels, J.M.M., Kester, V.N.M., Vosselman, W.L., Spitters, C.J.T. and Zeven, A.C. (1975). Investigations of the inheritance of flower variegation in Mirabilis jalapa L. Euphytica. 24:1-5.
Gaber, M.K. (2015). In Vitro Propagation and Somatic Embryogenesis of Marvel of Peru (Mirabilis jalapa L.) from Nodal and Leaf Explants. Alexandria Science Exchange Journal. 36 (4): 314-324.
Kaladhar, S.V.G.K.D. and Siva, K.N. (2010). Antimicrobial studies, biochemical and image analysis in Mirabilis jalapa. International Journal of Pharmacy &Technology. 2(3):683-693.
Li, Q., and Xu, F. (2022). Effects of biological characteristics of Mirabilis jalapa L. under different soil substrates, Proc. SPIE vol. 12458, International Conference on Biomedical and Intelligent Systems (IC-BIS 2022), 124580J.https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2659666.
Li, Q., Wang, H., Wang, Z., Li Y., Ran, J. and Zhang, C. (2020a). Re-investigation of cadmium accumulation in Mirabilis jalapa L.: evidences from field and laboratory. Environ SciPollut. Res. 27:12065–12079. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07785-6.
Li, X., Zhu, W., Meng, G., Guo, R. and Wang, Y. (2020b). Phytoremediation of Alkaline Soils Co-Contaminated with Cadmium and Tetracycline Antibiotics Using the Ornamental Hyperaccumulators Mirabilis jalapa and Tagetes patula. Environ SciPollut Res Int 27(12):14175-14183. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-07975-2.
Li, Y., Liu, J., Feng, X., Xue, Z., Liu, R., Gao, M. and Guo, J. (2025). Reveal Resistance Mechanisms of Mirabilis jalapa L. when Exposed to Galaxolide and Polystyrene Microplastics Stress, From Individual, Cellular and Molecular Level. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Vol. 223:109803, Doi.Org/10.1016/J.Plaphy.2025.109803.
Liya, F.I., Yasmin, Mt.F., Chowdhury, N.S., KhasruCharu, T. and Fatema, I.B. (2021). Mirabilis jalapa: A review of ethno and pharmacological activities. Advancement in Medicinal Plant Research. 9(1): 1-10.
Maulina, D., Sumitro, S.B., Amin, M. and Lestari, S.R. (2018). Identification of Peptides Compounds from Mirabilis jalapa L. (Caryophyllales: Nyctaginaceae) Potentially as a Biopesticide. The 2017 International Conference on Mathematics, Science, andEducation, IOP Conf. Series: Journal of Physics: Conf. Series1093 (2018) 012009.doi :10.1088/1742-6596/1093/1/012009.
Mc, Hoy P. (1998). Best Plants for Your Garden. Thunder Bay Press San Diego SUA.pp.35.
Peiris, D.S.H.S., Fernando, D.T.K., Senadeera, S.P.N.N., Chandana, A.K. and Ranaweera, C.B. (2022). Mirabilis jalapa Linn.: A Folklore Ayurvedic Medicinal Plant in Sri Lanka. Asian Plant Research Journal. 10(2): 21-41.
Rahman M.S., Nandi N.C. and Goswami B. (2021). In vitro regeneration of Mirabilis jalapa L. Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res.56(1):25-28. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/bjsir.v56i1.52692.
Ramesh, N.B. and Mahalakshmi, A.M. (2014). An Ethan pharmacological Review of Four O’Clock Flower Plant (Mirabilis jalapa Linn.). Journal of Biological & Scientific Opinion. 2(6):344-348. http://dx.doi.org/10.7897/2321-6328.02679.
Raza, A., Faijan, M., Tahseen Mohd, A. and Patel, D. (2024). A Review of Mirabilis jalapa: Traditional Ayurvedic Herbal Remedies. Int. J.Sci.Res.Sci.&Technol. 11(6):255-265. Doi.org/10.32628/IJSRST24116168.
Rozina, R. (2016). Pharmacological and biological activities of Mirabilis jalapa L. International Journal of Pharmacological Research. 6(5).Doi:10.7439/ijpr.
Saha, S., Deb J. and Deb, N.K. (2020). Review on Mirabilis jalapa L., (Nyctaginaceae): A medicinal plant. International Journal of Herbal Medicine. 8(2): 14-18.
Singh, M., Sanjiv, A., Mittal, K. and Kalia, A.N. (2012). Mirabilis jalapa- A Review. International Journal of Pharmaceutical, Medical and Applied Sciences. 1(3):22-43. ISSN: 2277-9558.
Sun, X., Zhou, Q., Ren, W., Li X., Ren, L. (2011). Spatialand Temporal Distribution of Acetochlor in SedimentsandRiparianSoils of theSonghua River Basin in Northeastern China. J. Environ. Sci. (China). 23(10):1684-90. doi: 10.1016/s1001-0742(10)60595-5.
Șelaru, E. (2007). Cultura florilor de grădină (Garden flower culture). Ed. Ceres Bucharest. pp. 572-573. (In Romanian).
Toma, F. (2009). Floriculturășiartăflorală. Speciiutilizatepentrudecorulparcurilorșigrădinilor (Floriculture and floral art. Species used for the decoration of parks and gardens).Ed INVEL-Multimedia Bucharest. Vol. 4: 70-71. (In Romanian).
Toma, F. and Petra, S. (2020). Floricultură și compoziții florale (Floriculture and floral arrangements). Ed. Total Publishing Bucharest. pp 206-207. (In Romanian).
van Dijk P.J. andEllis T.H.N. (2022). Mendel’s reaction to Darwin’s provision alhypothesis of pangenesis and the experiment that could not wait. Heredity. 129:12–16.https/doi.org/10.1038/s41437-022-00546-w.
Zhang, H., Zhao, X., Zhao, F., Han, J. and Sun, K. (2022). Mendel’s controlled pollination experiments in Mirabilis jalapa confirmed his discovery of the gamete theory of inheritance inPisum. Hereditas. 159:19.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41065-022-00232-1.
Zhou, J.Y., Zhou, S.W., Zeng, S.Y., Zhou, J.Y., Jiang, M.J. and He, Y. (2012). Hypoglycemic and Hypolipidemic effects of ethnolic extract of Mirabilis jalapa L. Root on normal and diabetic mice. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 1-10.
https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:162591-2
https://ro.guide-herb.com/kogda-sejat-mirabilis
https://identify.plantnet.org/ro/the-plant-list/species/Mirabilis%20jalapa%20L./data
https://www.stuartxchange.com/AlasCuatro
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/four-oclocks-mirabilis-jalapa
https://thebikinggardener.com/2014/08/14/something-truly-wonderful-mirabilis/
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
