Tall Morning-Glory (Ipomoea purpurea)

Beautiful and destructive, the tall morning-glory is an invasive wildflower that can grow 2.5 meters a day.

Introduced from South America, Ipomoea purpurea is unopposed by the ranks of natural enemies that slow a native plant.

Blooming from July to September, Ipomoea purpurea produces flowers that range in color from deep purple to white. Their mature fruit is a brown capsule containing 4 to 6 dark brown to black seeds.

The decidedly heart-shaped leaves help distinguish it from most of the other morning glories.

Hernando Cortes collected morning glory seeds from the Aztecs and took them back to Spain for the monastery gardens.

Charles Darwin wrote about Ipomoea purpurea in his book, "The Effects of Cross and Self-Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom."

Ipomoea purpurea prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. It cannot grow in the shade.

The beauty of its flowers is Ipomoea purpurea's only apparent redeeming characteristic in North America.

Scientific Classification

• Superdivision: Spermatophyta (seed plants)
• Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
• Class: Magnoliopsida (primitive flowering plants)
• Subclass: Asteridae
• Order: Solanales
• Family: Convolvulaceae (morning-glory family)
• Genus: Ipomoea (morning-glory)
• Species: Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth (tall morning-glory)