Blue Morning Glory

Appearance

"Ipomoea indica" is a vigorous, long-lived, tender perennial vine native to tropical, subtropical and warm temperate habitats throughout the world. They can most commonly be found in disturbed forests, forest edges, secondary woodland, suburban gullies, and along roadsides and waterways. The plant climbs well over other plants, walls and slopes as growing on the bottom. Its climbing habit allows it to compete with trees and shrubs successfully. It is a twisting, occasionally lying, herbaceous plant which is more or less densely hairy on the axial parts with backward-looking trichomes. The stems can grow 3 to 6 cm long and sometimes have roots at the nodes.

The leaves are petiolate with 2 to 18 cm long petioles. The leaf blade is egg-shaped or round, 5 to 15 cm long and 3.5 to 14 cm wide. The underside is densely hairy with short, soft trichomes, the top is more or less sparsely hairy. The base is heart-shaped, the leaf margin is entire or three-lobed, the tip is pointed or sharply pointed.

The crown is funnel-shaped, 5 to 8 cm long, glabrous, bright blue or bluish purple, with age they become reddish purple or red. The centre of the crown is a little paler.

"I. indica" is a long-lived plant that can live up to 25 years.

Naming

The Latin specific epithet "indica" means from India, or the East Indies or China. In this case, the name likely refers to the West Indies, as "I. indica" is native to the New World."Ipomoea indica" has become a noxious weed and invasive plant species in Australia, California, China, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Montenegro, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In New Zealand, it is classed as an unwanted organism under the Biosecurity Act 1993 and it is therefore illegal to sell, propagate and distribute the plant. It is listed on the National Pest Plant Accord for New Zealand.

When growing in optimal conditions, the plant is able to spread via seeds, stolons, and stem fragments. "I. indica" is capable of producing a very large amounts of seeds for dispersal. These seeds are easily germinated, giving the plant the ability to rapidly invade and colonize new land. It can grow over pre-existing trees, shrubs, and other plant species. "I. indica" successfully outcompetes many native plants for substrates, nutrients, sunlight and water. The stolons of blue morning glory create a thick mat over ground plants, reducing the light available for those plants. The stolons of blue morning glory are also capable of growing at a rapid pace, adding to the plant's succession. Each part can grow as a separate plant if snapped during the process of attempted removal.

The only natural enemy of "I. indica" is the oomycete plant "Albugo ipomoeae-panduratae," which have shown instances of infecting the plant"." Its lack of natural enemies is another reason "I. indica" is very successful and adds to its invasive abilities.

Distribution

Its exact native distribution is unclear due to it being widely cultivated throughout the tropics of Eurasia, Africa and America, but it is currently thought by most authorities to be native to the Neotropics, from Florida in the United States south to Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean and south to South America. It is also considered native to several Pacific islands, including Palau, the Hawaiian Archipelago, French Polynesia, and Micronesia.

However, other authorities consider it to be an introduced and/or invasive species in the United States, Mexico, and parts of its Caribbean and Pacific range.