Agree, Mirabilis jalapa.

Highly unusual if you found it in the wild. The only way that could happen is as a garden escape. Fairly common in gardens.

Wow, thank you all, I had expected to wait for days for an answer.

I'll put in an order for some seed.

It’ll need full sun and may not survive the winter unless you have a very sheltered spot for it.

Yes thank you. I am far too ambitious trying to over-winter less than hardy plants in an effort to get earlier flowering

They are hardy @ my location. As long as the ground doesn't freeze, the tuber should survive.

They are not reliably hardy in most of the UK and are usually grown as annuals or the tubers are lifted. Although the ground doesn't freeze they have to contend with damp cold and they also don't get a good summer baking.

they are a perennial.. grown in the north as an annual ...

if you still have access to the plant.. it may have seed on it.. on your piece.. they are there.. but might not be mature... they look like little hand grenades ... rather large ... they are black or dark brown when mature ...

in winter in my MI .... the larger birds eat them .. and i presume could move them around ... but ive never seen that ...

the seed can overwinter on the ground .. in warmer climes ... might not even be a need to store them ... except to protect from vermin ..

ken

variation on the theme of the plant

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Mirabilis+jalapa&iax=images&ia=images

seed

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Mirabilis+jalapa+seed&t=ffcm&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

Even if seed survived overwinter on the ground it requires a temperature of 70f to germinate. That wouldn't be achieved until well into the summer here, probably too late for plants to grow to flowering size.

THANK you responders.

And for this plant, I see that cuttings are also a way to propagate them.

A.R