| Etymology | Genus | Worm-like; referring to the twining stems |
|---|---|---|
| Species | Of Cairo, Egypt | |
| Family | Convolvulaceae | |
| Synonyms | Convolvulus cairicus L. | |
| Common Names | Cairo Morning Glory, Railway Creeper, Mile a Minute Vine | |
| Status | Exotic: Naturalised | |
| Form | Climber | |
| Native Distribution | Obscure, but probably from tropical Africa, and Asia | |
Diagnostics:
The flowers are purple, and leaves are palmately lobed. The lobes comes in five and sometimes the last two lobes each have another short lobe extending from them.
Interesting Facts:
A very common species in open areas, they can be frequently found growing over fences, scrublands, and trees. In Queensland and USA, it is labelled as an environmental weed as it can smother plants by blocking over the sunlight (Weeds of Australia, 2011; NRCS, 2012). Like most morning glory species, the flowers open in the morning and close before noon.
Ipomoea cairica is often found curling on unmaintained fences.
Leaves are palmately lobed.
The flowers are purple with a dark shade at the centre.
The unopened flower bud is spiralled.
The stem is dotted with lenticels.
References
Weeds of Australia. (2011) Coastal morning glory, Ipomoea cairica. Weeds of Australia, Biosecurity Edition, Queensland Government, Queensland. http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org. Accessed on 5-Jan-2013.NRCS. (2012) Ipomoea cairica (L.) Sweet. Mile a minute vine. Natural Resources Conservation Science, United States Department of Agriculture, USA. http://plants.usda.gov. Accessed on 5-Jan-2013.
Author: Siyang
Posted: 2013-01-05 / Modified: 2015-01-11
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