Sunday, October 7, 2012

Morning glory

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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.

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.
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. 





8 comments:

  1. Great to see you sketching again! Love the morning glory! I have one in my back yard I've wanted to sketch but just haven't done so. Your post has reminded me of that and I'd best do so before this cold wipes it out.

    Looking forward to seeing more of your work!!!!

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  2. Lovely the way you've trailed this across the page!

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  3. Lovely morning glories. A friend of mine had morning glories growing all over her chicken coop. Sadly, I didn't sketch them, or even take a photo, so I hope she'll do that again!

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  4. Thank you, Susan! Yes - get out there - they bloom early in the day here. I wish our temps would drop soon, it's still in the 90's (F) and it's October!

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  5. Hi Jeanette, thank you so much! I'm half-way through the little sketchbook - this is the double-spread. It's a lovely vine, isn't it?

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  6. Hello Kathy! I imagine that chicken coop was a gorgeous sight! I hope they'll be back!

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  7. This is so pretty. Your work is so beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

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  8. Thank you Beads2yarn! Thanks for visiting my blog. I wish you could have seen these in person with the sunlight turning them incandescent!

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