''Ipomoea tricolor'', the Mexican morning glory or just morning glory, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Convolvulaceae,

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to the New World

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referr ...

, and widely cultivated and

naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...

elsewhere. It is an herbaceous

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

perennial 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 wid ...

twining liana growing to tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, long with a long petiole. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are trumpet-shaped, in diameter, most commonly blue with a white to golden yellow centre.

Cultivation and uses

In cultivation, the species is very commonly grown misnamed as ''

Ipomoea violacea ''Ipomoea violacea'' is a perennial species of ''Ipomoea'' that occurs throughout the world with the exception of the European continent. It is most commonly called beach moonflower or sea moonflower as the flowers open at night. Description The ...

'', actually a different, though related, species. ''I. tricolor'' does not tolerate temperatures below , and so in temperate regions is usually grown as an

. It is in any case a relatively short-lived plant. It prefers a warm, sheltered, sunny position such as a south- or west-facing wall. Ingesting any part of the plant may cause discomfort. Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s of ''I. tricolor'' with different flower colours have been selected for use as

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 ...

s; widely grown examples include: * ‘Blue Star’ *‘Flying Saucers’ * ‘Heavenly Blue’ * ‘Heavenly Blue Improved’ * ‘Pearly Gates’ * ‘Rainbow Flash’ * ‘Skylark’ * ‘Summer Skies’ * ‘Wedding Bells’ The cultivar 'Heavenly Blue' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit.

Toxic treatments aimed at discouraging entheogenic use

Commercial seeds are sometimes treated with toxic methylmercury (although the use of methylmercury has been banned in the US and the UK since the 1980s), which serves as a preservative and a cumulative neurotoxic poison that is considered useful by some to discourage recreational use of the seeds as an

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclopedia of Psychoac ...

(hallucinogen). There is no legal requirement in the United States to disclose to buyers that seeds have been treated with a toxic heavy metal compound. According to the book ''Substances of Abuse'', in addition to methylmercury, the seeds are claimed to be sometimes coated with a chemical that cannot be removed with washing that is designed to cause unpleasant physical symptoms such as nausea and abdominal pain. The book states that this chemical is also toxic. Image:Ipomoea_tricolor-WeddingBells_20071011_01.png, Wedding Bells Image:Ipomoea_tricolor-WeddingBells_20071011_02.png, Wedding Bells close-up

Colour change

In ''Ipomoea tricolor'' 'Heavenly Blue', the colour of the flower changes during blossom according to an increase in

vacuolar A vacuole () is a membrane-bound organelle which is present in plant and fungal cells and some protist, animal, and bacterial cells. Vacuoles are essentially enclosed compartments which are filled with water containing inorganic and organic mo ...

pH. This shift, from red to blue, is induced by chemical modifications affecting the anthocyanin molecules present in the petals.

References

External links

Erowid Morning Glory vault
{{Taxonbar, from=Q159698 Annual plants Entheogens Flora of South America tricolor Herbal and fungal hallucinogens Natural sources of lysergamides Vines Taxa named by Antonio José Cavanilles