Colorado four-o'clock, Mirabilis multiflora

Mesa Verde National Park; a whole bunch of tourists were stopped along the road. To see this flower? No, to see a deer. Just down the road, no one was stopped for this show. The four-o'clock formed a two-foot clump covered with these terrific flowers. Were they plant blind? Certainly those that came before were not. The Hopi, Keres, Navajo and Zuni peoples found many uses for Colorado four-o'clock. It was a palliative for many ailments. Hopi medicine people chewed the roots to induce visions to help with diagnoses. Leaves were used for tea or like tobacco. You can see Colorado four-o'clock in AZ, CA, CO, NM, NV, TX, and UT. Montezuma Co CO, 6/22/13. Four-o'clock family, Nyctaginaceae.