What is this weed?

[Alicja Burnette]

This weed(?) keeps popping up in my front yard, in several places. I'd been removing it time and time again but this time, I let it grow, kind of as a joke to see how big it would get because they grow so fast. Well, today I noticed it's got magenta colored flowers on it. I have scoured the google universe trying to figure out what the heck it is and it is driving me nuts. I live in the CA Central Valley (desert). The first photo is a new growth, 2-3 weeks, and the second is an older one, perhaps 2 months.

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[gata montes]

Looks very much to me like the tuberous rooted perennial Mirabilis Jalapa which is also known as The Four O'Clock Plant, Don Diego or The Marvel of Peru - which although is some parts of the world is considered a weed - is normally grown as a perennial - which as the flowers normally only open in the evening - is mainly grown for its magnificent evening scent - which fills the air with a scent that bears a very striking resemblance to that of Chanel No 5.

As its normal flower color in the wild is yellow - as yours is pink - I'm thinking that yours has possibly arrived from a cultivated variety especially as these plants can be quite prolific and travel very easily - they come in many other colors too including a marbled variety - which I particularly like as no one flower is ever the same

 

[Alicja Burnette]

Thank you gata! I posted my photo on Facebook last night and some friends identified it for me. I'd never heard of them and the way they are growing relentlessly in my yard I assumed it was a weed before it ever got to blooming size. I went out this morning and counted 7 seedlings sprouting in my yard in various places, but mostly INSIDE other plants, within their leaves/branches. Much not like to be lonely

 

[alexiskilgannon]

Hm, what a lovely find! At least you know it's not a pesky weed anymore, but more so a beautiful flower.