Four O’Clock Flower

— While walking at Copperfield Nature Trail (Austin, Texas), near my home, I saw this flower for the very first time. I was surprised to see it there at the entrance of the trail. As often as I have been going there all these years, I had never noticed it before.

The Four O’Clock flower is also known as marvel of Peru. It is a perennial flower with a striking deep pink or magenta-purple color. The flowers open in the evenings (or late afternoons, when I made these photos). It is very drought tolerant and likes both sunny and partially shaded areas. Because it tends to spread quickly, this is an excellent plant to have as ground cover. It blooms from late spring until fall. Here are some other photos I made on two separate visits.