These started popping up in a very localized corner of my yard about two months ago. The rounded leaves are of course the cotyledons. Now they are showing their first set of true leaves (the pointy ones) and I thought this would be a better time to ID than before. Each cotyledon is about 1-1/2" wide, to give you a better perspective. There are other plants that have popped up recently as well but they were easy to identify, such as beans and tomatoes. This one has me stumped though.



Any guesses?

Here is a closer shot of one individual. The plant, from root to top is about 4"
After looking at pictures online and due to the red tint on the upper root, I almost think it's a radish but I'm still not positive.



Any guesses?

I think these may be Mirabilis jalapa (4 o'clocks).

I was thinking the same.

Volunteers in my yard a few years ago.


Karen

My thought as well. But then I have 4 o'clocks on the brain right now.

I thought 4 O'clocks as well, mine are sprouting right now and they look exactly like this.

Here's a photo of one of my seedlings in a 4" pot:

Thanks for your help! I think you may be right. The texture and density of the stem looks identical to that of other 4 o'clocks in the database. Additionally, the picture posted by kqcrna looks EXACTLY like my yard. The dispersion pattern, color and everything! Thanks again.

Keep an eye on those things, Ross. They can reseed wildly, even in the lawn.

Karen

I see what you mean now, Karen.

Luckily, they're easy to pick off as long as you check them regularly.
They turn black in about a day and once they do, they fall off right into your hand with a little tap.
This is what I've collected in about two days.

I'm going to save them in a paper envelope and store them in a cool, dry place. Is there anything else I should consider?

What color flowers are you getting, Ross?

I had to wait until it cooled down outside to take these so I could get the flowers in bloom.


Believe it or not, this is a single plant.

Here's one more that I just took in the twilight.
In person, they're so vivid that as it gets dark, they almost seem to glow.

Looks nice! The ones I grow in containers don't spread out nearly that much! Most of mine (I have a bunch growing this year) are that magenta color like in your photo. But I have a few white, some pink, and a few yellow ones too. Supposed to have some salmon colored ones that are new to me, but none have bloomed yet. Yeah, I like 4 o'clocks. My mom used to have them growing in front of our house in SoCal and those rascals were BIG! At least 4 ft tall....and that was AFTER my mom trimmed them down.