Adjacent Words

Mirabilis jalapa definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: common garden plant of North America having fragrant red or purple or yellow or white flowers that open in late afternoon [syn: common four-o'clock, marvel-of-Peru, Mirabilis jalapa, Mirabilis uniflora]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Jalap Jal"ap, n. [F., fr. Sp. jalapa; -- so called from Jalapa, a town in Mexico, whence it was first obtained.] (Med.) The tubers of the Mexican plant Ipom[oe]a purga (or Exogonium purga), a climber much like the morning-glory. The abstract, extract, and powder, prepared from the tubers, are well known purgative medicines. Other species of Ipom[oe]a yield several inferior kinds of jalap, as the I. Orizabensis, and I. tuberosa. False jalap, the root of Mirabilis Jalapa, four-o'clock, or marvel of Peru.