''Ipomoea purpurea'', the common morning-glory, tall morning-glory, or purple morning glory, is a species in the genus ''

Ipomoea ''Ipomoea'' () is the largest genus in the plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 600 species. It is a large and diverse group, with common names including morning glory, water convolvulus or water spinach, sweet potato, bindweed, moonfl ...

'', native to

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 ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Description

Like all morning glories, the plant entwines itself around structures, growing to a height of tall. The leaves are heart-shaped and the stems are covered with brown hairs. 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, predominantly blue to purple or white, and in diameter.

Distribution and habitat

The plant is predisposed to moist and rich

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debri ...

, but can be found growing in a wide array of soil types.Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal and Joseph M. Ditomaso, ''Weeds of The Northeast'', (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997), Pp. 214-217. It is naturalized throughout warm temperate and subtropical regions of the world. Although it is often considered a noxious weed, ''I. purpurea'' is also grown for its attractive purple and white flowers, and has many

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. Common cultivars include ''I. purpurea'' 'Crimson Rambler' (red-violet blossoms with white throats), 'Grandpa Ott's', 'Kniola's Black Knight', 'Star of Yelta' (blossoms in varying shades of deep purple with white or pale pink throats), and 'Milky Way' (white corolla with mauve accents).

Chemistry

The triangular seeds have some history of use as a psychedelic; they, like '' I. tricolor'', may contain LSA. Effects are reported to be somewhat similar to those of

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...

Flower color

Acylated

cyanidin Cyanidin is a natural organic compound. It is a particular type of anthocyanidin (glycoside version called anthocyanins). It is a pigment found in many red berries including grapes, bilberry, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, chokeberry, cranber ...

glycosides can be isolated from violet-blue flowers of ''I. purpurea''. These anthocyanins were all based on cyanidin 3-sophoroside-5-glucoside, acylated with caffeic acid and/or p-coumaric acid. Acylated pelargonidin glycosides can be isolated from the red-purple flowers of ''I. purpurea''. The acylated anthocyanins were all based on pelargonidin 3-sophoroside-5-glucoside, acylated with caffeic acid and/or glucosylcaffeic acid.

Toxic treatments

Commercial morning glory seeds are commonly treated with toxic methylmercury, which serves as a preservative and a cumulative neurotoxic poison that is considered useful by some to discourage their recreational use. The US has no legal requirement 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 commonly 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.

Gallery

Image:BlueMorningGloryClose.jpg, Light blue ''I. purpurea'' File:MorningGlory-Pink.jpg, Pink ''I. purpurea'' Image:MorningGlory-Pink-1.jpg, Pink ''I. purpurea'' close-up Image:MorningGlories-Tonsofem.jpg, ''I. purpurea'' in

Loganville, Georgia Loganville is a city in Walton and Gwinnett counties, Georgia, United States. The population was 10,458 at the 2010 census. Loganville is located about east of Atlanta and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. History An early variant name ...

File:MorningGlory-Pink 2.jpg, Pink ''I. purpurea'' File:PurpleGlory1-Close2.jpg, Purple ''I. purpurea'' close-up Image:PurpleGlory1-Close.jpg, Purple ''I. purpurea'' close-up Image:Ipomoea purpurea pollen.jpg, Scanning electron micrograph of ''I. purpurea'' pollen Image: uncultivated blue morning glory.jpg, Violet-blue ''I. purpurea ''

References

External links

''Ipomoea purpurea'' in TopWalks
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1630964 purpurea Flora of Central America Flora of Mexico Garden plants of Central America Medicinal plants Vines Entheogens