Morning glory

Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose taxonomy and systematics remain in flux. These species are distributed across numerous genera, including:

Ipomoea tricolor, commonly known simply as "morning glory", is the archetypical species for the group and is renowned for its many beautiful varieties, such as 'Heavenly Blue', 'Flying Saucers', and 'Pearly Gates'.

As the name suggests, most morning glory flowers open early in the day and begin to fade by late morning, as the corolla starts to curl inward. They thrive in full sun and prefer mesic soils. While many species are known for their diurnal blooming pattern, some, such as Ipomoea muricata, Ipomoea alba, and Ipomoea macrorhiza, produce night-blooming flowers.

Morning glory species were historically used in China for their laxative seeds, by ancient Mesoamericans to vulcanize rubber with their sulfur-rich juice, and by Aztec priests for hallucinogenic purposes. Morning glories can become serious invasive weeds in places like Australia and the United States, where they spread rapidly, smother native plants, and are often regulated or banned due to their negative impact on agriculture and ecosystems.

Morning glories are fast-growing, twining plants often grown as perennial plants in frost-free areas and annual plants in colder climates, valued for their attractive flowers and shade-providing vines, with a long history of cultivation and selective breeding especially in Japan since the 8th century. Ipomoea aquatica, known as water spinach or water morning glory, is widely used as a green vegetable in East and Southeast Asian cuisines, though it is regulated as a noxious weed in the United States, while the genus Ipomoea also includes sweet potatoes, sometimes called tuberous morning glories. The seeds of various morning glory species contain ergoline alkaloids like ergine (LSA) and isoergine, which are structurally related to LSD and can produce psychedelic effects lasting 4 to 10 hours when ingested in sufficient quantities.