Ipomoea Pes-caprae

''Ipomoea pes-caprae'', also known as bayhops, bay-hops, beach morning glory or goat's foot, is a common pantropical creeping vine belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It grows on the upper parts of beaches and endures salted air. It is one of the most common and most widely distributed salt tolerant plants and provides one of the best known examples of oceanic dispersal. Its seeds float and are unaffected by salt water.

Originally described by Linnaeus, it was placed in its current genus by Robert Brown in 1818.

Description

''Ipomoea pes-caprae'' is a prostrate perennial, often covering large areas; stems long-trailing often several metres in length, rooting at the nodes, glabrous. It has pink, fused petals with a darker centre. The fruit is a capsule containing 4 hairy seeds that float in water.

Distribution

This species can be found on the sandy shores of the tropical Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. A similar species, ''Ipomoea imperati'', with white flowers, has an even wider distribution on the world's beaches. ''I. pes-caprae'' is common on the sand dunes of Australia's upper north coast of New South Wales, and can also be found along the entire Queensland coastline.

Goat's Foot is a primary sand stabilizer, being one of the first plants to colonise dunes. It grows on almost all parts of dunes but is usually found on the seaward slopes, sending long runners down towards the toe of the dune. The sprawling runners spread out from the woody rootstock, but the large two-lobed leaves are sparse and a dense cover on the sand is rarely achieved except in protected situations. This plant grows in association with sand '' Spinifex'' grass and is a useful sand binder, thriving under conditions of sandblast and salt spray.

Community species: ''Ipomoea pes-caprae'' has been observed in community situations, studied for their endurance of difficult growing conditions (on dunes) with some other tough species.

* ''Hydrocotyle bonariensis''
* ''Senecio crassiflorus''
* ''Juncus acutus''

Together with ''Melanthera biflora'', ''Portulaca oleracea'' and ''Digitaria ciliaris'', ''Ipomoea pes-caprae'' is usually one of the first species colonizing degraded or altered environments in tropical zones of the planet.

Uses

In Australia, it is a commonly used aboriginal medicine used as poultice for sting ray and stone fish stings.

In Brazil, this plant – namely the subspecies ''brasiliensis'' – is known as ''salsa-da-praia'' in folk medicine, and is used to treat inflammation and gastrointestinal disorders.

In the Philippines, the plant is known locally as ''Bagasua'' and is used to treat rheumatism, colic, oedema, whitlow, and piles.

Etymology

''I. pes-caprae'' comes from the Latin 'pes' for foot and 'caprae' for goat and refers to the resemblance of the outline of the leaf to the footprint of a goat.

Gallery

Image:Ipomoea pes-caprae 3.JPG, Vines on a pebble beach
File:Ipomoea pes-caprae Malaysia.jpg, Beach morning glory in Malaysia
File:Ipomoea pes-caprae DSCN0356 02.JPG, Beach morning glory, Muzhappilangad Beach
File:Ipomoea pes-caprae DSCN0356 04.JPG, Beach morning glory, Muzhappilangad Beach
File:Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis near Potzuliao Harbor, Yunlin.jpg, Beach morning glory vines, Yunlin
File:View of Eastern ghats over plant bushes at Tenneti Park beach.jpg, View of Eastern Ghats over beach morning glory bushes, Tenneti Park

References

External links

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Halophytes
pes-caprae
Pantropical flora
Plants described in 1818

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