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| Click on image to view larger. |
Morning glory
Ipomoea
species
This morning glory was growing along
the same roadside as the railroad vine I sketched at the end of September.
Areas like these are known as ruderal, disturbed
sites that have had the original vegetation removed, paving the way for
colonizer plants that are often thought of as weedy or invasive. You have to be tough to be a colonizer,
though, for sometimes the ground has been stripped of topsoil, or replaced by nutrient-poor
fill material.
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| Morning glory bloom. |
I’m not sure which morning glory
this is, especially since there are so many species throughout our state. The closest I’ve come to an identification is
Ipomoea cordatotriboba (also known as I. trichocarpa). The leaves look correct, but my bloom color
is more blue than the photos in my plant books and online.
I’ve read that morning glory blooms
are sometimes more blue in the early morning, turning lavender to pink as the
day passes. These were a bright
purple-blue when open, but I noticed that the spent blooms were a pale
pink/lavender on the underside. Perhaps one
of you can help with the identification.
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| Worm-like? Maybe... |
Morning glory is a member of the
Convolvulaceae family, as is the railroad vine.
The genus Ipomoea drives from
two Greek words: ips (a worm) and homoios (resembling). The twining and curling vines are thought to
have put the author in mind of worm-like behavior. Personally, I think they’re too beautiful for
such a epithet!
Media:
The
Sketchbook Project sketchbook,
Pitt
Artist pen in black, size XS for the sketch, and S for the text
Kimberly
watercolor pencils,
Niji
Aquabrush, medium size.
For further reading:
Universityof Florida and Lee County IFAS Extension.
One of their photos has blooms are closer
in color to those in my drawing.
