Download Many Flowers – One Name Most people recognize a Morning Glory

Many Flowers – One Name
Most people recognize a Morning Glory when they see one. They recognize the large, trumpetbell shaped flower, usually white, pink, sky blue, or purple, growing on a vine with large leaves.
In some places Morning Glories are grown as beautiful garden plants; in other places they are
considered noxious weeds.
More than a thousand different plant species have been given the common name “Morning
Glory” which refers to the fact that the plant opens new flowers every morning and by the end of
the day the flower curls up, never to open again. The Morning Glories all belong to the
Convolvulaceae (con-volve-you-lacy-ee) family which is found mostly in the New World
tropics. Today the plants are cultivated throughout the world, far beyond their original tropical
range. The family name comes from the fact that most of its members are vines or vine-like and
their stems twist or wind around when growing. The Latin word “convolvere” means “to wind”
and the family name is based on the Latin.
There are more than 1500 species spread through about 60 genera in this family. The largest and
best known genus is Ipomoea (Ip-uh-mee-yuh) and it contains about 650 species . One example
within that genus that is not really a Morning Glory is the Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas). Other
members of the family include the invasive and attractive cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) and
the infamous mile-a-minute weed (Ipomoea cairica) . Arizona and Arkansas have decided to
declare ALL members of this genus as noxious weeds (except the Mexican bush Morning Glory
and two other species) and ban their importation to and sale within the state.
At least one member of the Morning Glory genus is a late sleeper. The Moon vine (Ipomoea
alba) is a night blooming Morning Glory. It has a large white flower that opens at dusk and stays
open all night. In the tropics this plant is perennial, but in our temperate climate it only grows as
an annual, which is true for many Morning Glories. It will not reseed itself unless the seed coats
are nicked with a file which allows them to soak up water and germinate. In nature the nicking is
probably done by rodents who nick the seeds by gnawing.
Morning Glories are amazing chemical factories. They or organisms living on or inside them
called symbionts, produce a large variety of chemicals, some of which are psycho-active or
hallucinogenic. One particular class of chemicals, ergoline alkaloids, are produced by fungi that
are commonly found living in symbiosis with the Morning Glory. The fungus is transmitted from
plant to plant via the seed. Thus the seeds of a plant having the fungal symbiont will carry the
fungus to the daughter plant. Another class of chemicals is the loline alkaloids that are effective
insecticides. These and other chemicals are concentrated in the seed and thus the seeds should
not be eaten. The concentration and potency of the chemical can vary from plant to plant or seed
to seed and large potent doses can cause serious or painful health issues.
PHOTO
A “Heavenly Blue” Morning Glory (Ipoema tricolor) growing on a trellis in Alliance in midAugust. Note the white throat, yellow center and sky blue color that are characteristic of this
particular variety.