Brunfelsia pauciflora

Description

Brunfelsia pauciflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae, the nightshades. It is endemic to Brazil, and it is grown in cultivation. Its common names include yesterday-today-and-tomorrow, morning-noon-and-night, Kiss Me Quick, and Brazil raintree. The genus name Brunfelsia commemorates sixteenth century German monk, Otto Brunfels. The species name, bonodora, is from the Latin, and means 'sweet-smelling'. This species is a shrub up to 2.4 meters tall by 1.5 wide. The leathery leaves are up to 16 centimeters long, dark green on top and paler on the undersides. Flowers are borne in cymes of up to 10. The flower is about 5 centimeters long. It blooms purple with a white throat, then turns lavender and then white. The shrub has all three flower colors at once as more bloom. This plant is toxic, especially the fruit. Cultivars bred for ornamental use include the common 'Eximia', the smaller, more floriferous 'Floribunda', and 'Macrantha', which has larger flowers without white throats. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.