''Ipomoea cairica'' is a vining, herbaceous,

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

with palmate leaves and large, showy white to lavender flowers. A species of

morning glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...

, it has many common names, including mile-a-minute vine, Messina creeper, Cairo morning glory, coast morning glory and railroad creeper.Ipomoea cairica (L.) Sweet
USDA PLANTS The species name ''cairica'' translates to "from

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

", the city where this species was first collected.Ipomoea cairica (L.) Sweet var. cairica
SA National Biodiversity Institute

Description

A hairless, slim climber with bulbous roots and lignescented base, its leaves are stalked with 2 to 6 cm long petioles. The leaf blade is ovate to circular in outline, 3 to 10 cm long and 6 to 9 cm wide. It is divided into five to seven segments, these are

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

, ovate or elliptic, entire and pointed at the tip and base. Often pseudo side-leaves are formed. The

lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...

-coloured

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

s are one to a little bloody cymes. The flower stalks are 12 to 20 mm long, the

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s are 6 to 8 mm long, ovate and sting-pointed. The

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

is funnel-shaped, 4 to 6 cm long and violet colored. The stamens and the stylus do not protrude beyond the crown. The ovary is hairless. The fruits are spherical capsules approximately 1 cm in diameter containing one or two hairy seeds. Each fruit matures at about 1 cm across and contains hairy seeds. The vine blooms occasionally throughout the months, but more profusely from spring to summer.Carranza, E. (2007). «Family Convolvulaceae». Flora of the Bajío and Adjacent Regions . Fascicle 151

Range

Its exact native range is uncertain, though it is believed to originate from a rather wide area, ranging from Cape Verde to the Arabian Peninsula, including northern

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

tropical Africa Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the trop ...

and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. It covers walls, fences or trees, with stems that can measure more than 10 m in length. The altitude at which it has been recorded ranges from 250 to 2250 m.

Invasive species

Because of human dispersal, it occurs today on most continents as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

and is sometimes a noxious weed and an invasive species, such as along the coast of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. As well as in the United States, where it occurs in Hawaii, California, all the gulf coast states, as well as Arkansas and Missouri. It also occurs in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, where it is used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

Cultivation

Some plant nurseries sell this plant as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

thanks to its showy purple flowers and as well for its fast growth to quickly cover unsightly fences or walls. It can grow as a separate plant if

snapped ''Snapped'' is an American true crime television series produced by Jupiter Entertainment. The series depicts high profile or bizarre cases of women accused of murder. Each episode outlines the motivation for murder, whether it be revenge agai ...

during attempted removal process.
Georgia Vines Cart The plant causes respiratory symptoms if ingested.

Uses

Most parts of the plant are edible, such as its leaves, which are eaten when young. And its roots, which can be cooked prior to eating.

Zulu people Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Nata ...

use the plant medicinally, where they make a concoction with its crushed leaves and drink it to heal

rash A rash is a change of the human skin which affects its color, appearance, or texture. A rash may be localized in one part of the body, or affect all the skin. Rashes may cause the skin to change color, itch, become warm, bumpy, chapped, dry, c ...

es and fever. The plant in some areas is also considered to have antibiotic properties.

Gallery

File:✿Ipomoea cairica Flower in Hong Kong✿.JPG, Flower closeup in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

File:Ipomoea cairica (dkrb)-1.jpg, Vining ''I. cairica'' in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

File:Ipomoea cairica near Hyderabad W IMG 4798.jpg, Wall cover in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

File:Ipomoea cairica 25.jpg, As a groundcover File:Ipomoea cairica by Beor St Creek 7th Brigade Park Chermside P1080939.jpg, As a shrub File:Ipomoea cairica 19.jpg, Near a pond File:Ipomoea cairica 07294.JPG, Growing on a bridge rail File:Leaves of Ipomoea cairica.jpg, As a

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

File:Ipomoea stipulacea Scharf.jpg, Botanical illustration File:五爪金龍 Ipomoea cairica 20210309083143 01.jpg, After blooming, the curled flower resembles a bud that is about to open. File:五爪金龍 Ipomoea cairica 20210314171335.jpg, The entanglement of the petals of two flowers often causes one of them to detach from the stem. File:五爪金龍 Ipomoea cairica 20210309083143 15.jpg, Ipomoea cairica is called "Five-Clawed Golden Dragon" in Chinese.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment
{{- cairica Flora of Western Asia Flora of Macaronesia Vines Invasive plant species in Australia