Peacock Plant

Botanical Name:

Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Scientific Classification:

Order: Fabales

Family: Fabaceae

Genus: Caesalpinia

Common Name:

Peacock Plant, Peacock Flower Plant, Pride of Barbados, Red Bird of Paradise, Mexican Bird of Paradise, Dwarf Poinciana

Local Name (Hindi Name) :

Guletura

Plant Description :

The flowers of Caesalpinia pulcherrima bloom throughout the year. The Caesalpinia pulcherrima is commonly known by names such as Peacock Plant, Peacock Flower Plant, Pride of Barbados, Red Bird of Paradise, Mexican Bird of Paradise, and Dwarf Poinciana. In India, this plant is either referred by its botantical name, that is, Caesalpinia pulcherrima or by two of its popular common names, that is, Peacock Plant (or Peacock Flower Plant) and Pride of Barbados. Some people confuse Caesalpinia pulcherrima plant as Gulmohar. This is because of the many similarities between the Gulmohar and Guletura (Caesalpinia pulcherrima).

Four o’clock Plant

Botanical Name:

Mirabilis jalapa

Scientific Classification:

Order: Caryophyllales

Family: Nyctaginaceae

Genus: Mirabilis

Common Name:

Four o’clock Plant, Marvel of Peru

Local Name (Hindi Name) :

Gul abbas

Plant Description:

The Four o’clock plant is known by many names. The botanical name of the Four o’clock plant is Mirabilis jalapa. In ancient times, Mirabilis jalapa was referred to as Krishnakali. In South India, the Mirabilis jalapa plant is known as andhi mandarai (Tamil Nadu), naalumani poovu (Kerela),  sanje mallige (Karnataka), chandrakantha (Andhra Pradesh), In North India, the Mirabilis jalapa plant is known by it’s hindi name, Gul abbas. However, if someone refers to the Mirabilis jalapa plant as not Four o’clock plant, but Marvel of Peru plant, don’t be confused. In the sixteenth century, the Mirabilis jalapa plant was exported from Peru to the different parts of the world.

The Mirabilis jalapa plant is an ornamental plant. This plant was once considered the gardener’s favorite. However in modern times, the popularity of the plant has been taken over by Periwinkle. The reason being is that the flower of a Periwinkle plant last much longer than the flower of a Mirabilis jalapa plant.  Hence, you will have to do some searching in the gardens of India, to spot Mirabilis jalapa.

The reason behind the name ‘Four o’clock’, is that according to legend, the Four o’clock plant can be best viewed at Four o’clock in the afternoon. The flowers of a Four o’clock plant can be pink, yellow, white, and (rarely) blue. Many a times, it is the blue flower that gets most noticed, and hence a Four o’clock ‘blue’ color flower plant  is costlier as compared to the rest.