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Image of Macfarlane's Four-o'clock (Mirabilis macfarlanei)
Macfarlane's Four-o'clock (Mirabilis macfarlanei)

Plant of the month:

Macfarlane’s Four-o’clock (Mirabilis macfarlanei)

This showy plant is quite something if you encounter it in the dry areas of Eastern Oregon and Western Idaho. Often growing on dry, steep slopes high above the river, this four-o’clock, with bright magenta flowers and purplish stems, stands out on the brownish hillsides. Mirabilis macfarlanei was listed as Endangered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 1979. It was threatened by many things, including: trampling, grazing, disease, insect damage and horticultural collecting.

An initial recovery plan was created in 1985. It called for baseline studies, determination of population trends, and periodic sampling of populations. The species was downlisted to Threatened in 1996 due to the discovery of additional populations and successful recovery efforts. A revised recovery plan was finalized in 2000. The protection of Mirabilis macfarlanei is especially important because it is host to a rare moth that was discovered in 1983. This Heliodinid moth (Lithariapteryx sp.) is host specific to M. macfarlanei. The moth larvae only feeds on the leaves and flowers of Mirabilis macfarlanei (Baker 1985). In the interests of biodiversity, it is important to preserve both the rare moth and the rare four-o’clock. Because the moth’s feeding preferences have the capability of reducing reproduction of the four-o’clock, it is important to protect large numbers of plants. With larger numbers of plants, there will be a greater chance for plants to reproduce.

The species was named after Ed MacFarlane, who was a riverboat pilot on the Snake River for over 30 years. Ed MacFarlane did not discover the species. It was shown to him by Harold St. John, a botanist, on a trip up the Snake River. For unknown reasons, St. John did not publish his find. Later, Ed MacFarlane showed two other botanists, Lincoln Constance and Reed Rollins, the plant. They described the species and named it after the pilot (Pilz 1978 in Kaye and Meinke 1992).

Information from CPC Plant Profiles

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The Center For Plant Conservation (CPC) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization (EIN# 22-2527116) dedicated to saving rare plant species from extinction. CPC's National Collection represents more than 2,000 of the world's rarest plants, maintained collectively by its valued network of Participating Institutions.

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