Matthiola longipetala
species of plant

Matthiola longipetala, known as night-scented stock or evening stock (syns Cheiranthus longipetalus, Matthiola bicornis, Matthiola longipetala subsp. bicornis, and Matthiola oxyceras), is a species of ornamental plant.
Description
A member of the genus Matthiola native to Eurasia which emits a pleasant scent in the evening and through the night. It has four-petaled purple to white flowers, which are approximately 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) wide. The plant is low-growing and highly branched in form, normally growing to about 45 cm (18 in) in length. During the heat of the day, the flowers appear wilted.
Cultivation
This species is primarily grown for the evening scent. It is cold-resistant and grown throughout North America, even doing well into hardiness zone 1 . This hardy annual prefers cool conditions in full sun and may not do well at high temperatures. It is best to plant thickly in clumps if a bushy appearance is desired.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q937724. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Matthiola longipetala” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.