Gul Abbas / 4 'O' Clock Plant
Mirabilis jalapa
Also known as Marvel Of Peru
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Gul Abbas
Identify Gul Abbas by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Trumpet flowers open in late afternoon; wrinkled black seeds.
- Use the leaf pattern: opposite leaf arrangement, simple leaves, entire leaf margins, pinnate venation.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Nyctaginaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Gul Abbas.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Mirabilis jalapa
- Genus
- Mirabilis
- Family
- Nyctaginaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Grown as garden plant
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Peru
- Distribution
- All tropical regions
- Found in India
- Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram, Delhi, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Bihar, Manipur, Puducherry, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Tripura
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Opposite
Characters marked “recorded” are for Gul Abbas itself; the rest are typical of the Nyctaginaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Cyme
- Fruit
- Achene
Typical of the Nyctaginaceae family — flowering plants only; individual species can differ.
Local Names
- Hindi
- गुल अब्बास Gul abbas, गुलबक्षी Gulbakshi,गुल अब्बास gula abbas
- Nepali
- ल्वाङकसानी
- Bengali
- সংধ্যা মালতী Sandhya malati, সন্ধ্যামালতী
- Tamil
- Pattarashu, அந்தி மந்தாரை Andhi Mandarai, அந்தி மல்லிகை
- Telugu
- చంద్రకాంత Chandrakantha, Chandramalli, మిరాబిలిస్ జలపా
- Kannada
- ಗುಲ್ಲುಮುಂಚಿ Gullumunchi, ಮಧ್ಯಾಹ್ನಮಲ್ಲಿಗೆ Madhyaahna mallige, ನಾಲ್ಕುಗಂಟೆಹೂ Naalku gante hoo
- Malayalam
- Anthimalari, Anti-mantaram, naalu mani poovu
- Marathi
- गुलबस Gulabas, गुलबास Gulabaas, सायंकाळें Saayankaale
- Odia
- ରଙ୍ଗିନୀ
- Assamese
- গধূলিগোপাল
- Urdu
- گل سہ پہری
- Sinhala
- හෙන්දිරික්කා
Gul Abbas in India
Gulabbas opens its fragrant flowers in the late afternoon, giving it the name 'four o'clock flower' — गुल अब्बास Gul abbas (Hindi), Pattarashu (Tamil), చంద్రకాంత Chandrakantha (Telugu), ಗುಲ್ಲುಮುಂಚಿ Gullumunchi (Kannada), Anthimalari (Malayalam), गुलबस Gulabas (Marathi). Mirabilis jalapa is grown and self-sown across Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana in gardens and on roadsides.
Uses
It is an easy, cheerful ornamental, often growing semi-wild from self-sown seed, prized because one plant can carry flowers of several colours — and even striped or split-coloured blooms. The roots and seeds have attributed folk uses but are not eaten.
How to Identify Gul Abbas
A bushy herb with paired heart-shaped leaves and trumpet-shaped flowers that open in the late afternoon and evening and close by morning. Flowers come in magenta, yellow, white, pink and mixes, and the hard black wrinkled seed looks like a tiny landmine.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is 4 'o' Clock plant called in different Indian languages?
- गुल अब्बास Gul abbas (Hindi); Pattarashu (Tamil); చంద్రకాంత Chandrakantha (Telugu); ಗುಲ್ಲುಮುಂಚಿ Gullumunchi (Kannada); Anthimalari (Malayalam); गुलबस Gulabas (Marathi); সংধ্যা মালতী Sandhya malati (Bengali); ରଙ୍ଗିନୀ (Odia).
- Why is it called the four o'clock flower?
- Its trumpet flowers open in the late afternoon (around four o'clock) and through the evening, then close again by the next morning.
- Can one gulabbas plant have different coloured flowers?
- Yes — a single plant often bears flowers in several colours, sometimes striped or split-coloured on the same bush.
Nyctaginaceae
Four-O'clock Family
Gul Abbas belongs to the Nyctaginaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guidesMore in Nyctaginaceae
View all NyctaginaceaeSources: GBIF — Mirabilis jalapa (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Mirabilis jalapa (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Mirabilis jalapa (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)