Oceanblue morning glory (Ipomoea indica)

Oceanblue morning glory (Ipomoea indica) is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae, hardy perennial, stems growing on the ground or climbing, leaves in the shape of a heart or 3 lobes, flowers trumpet-shaped and widely used as an ornamental plant.

I. indica has strong stems, cylindrical, dark green, coarse white hair, sometimes has roots on internodes, grows creeping and swirling on the ground or climbs by wrapping around the stems of other plants or other artificial structures.

Leaves round or heart-shaped or three lobed, pointed tip, margin flat, 5-15 cm long, 3.5-14 cm wide, a large vein in the middle, several small pinnate veins, dark green upper side, underside hairy thick, short and soft trichomes.

Inflorescences have stems 4-20 cm long. Bracts are linear or sometimes lanceolate. The crown is trumpet-shaped, 5-8 cm long, glabrous, bright blue or bluish-purple or reddish-purple or red. The center of the crown is slightly paler. Sepals are 1.4-2.2 cm long.

The flowers change color which is bright blue in the morning, turning to a darker blue in the middle of the day, then lavender blue and finally dark pink at the end of the day. The fruit is a round capsule and 1-1.3 cm in diameter. Seeds are 5 mm in size and are dispersed through rain, wind, human activities, gravity and waterways.

Oceanblue morning glories can live up to 25 years, often found in disturbed forests, forest edges, secondary forests, suburban ditches and along roadsides and waterways. This species reproduces using seeds, stolons and stem fragments.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Tribe: Ipomoeeae
Genus: Ipomoea
Species: Ipomoea indica

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