Morning glory is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of which are:
Ipomoea is the largest genus in the plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 600 species. It is a large and diverse group, with common names including morning glory, water convolvulus or water spinach, sweet potato, bindweed, moonflower, etc. The genus occurs throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and comprises annual and perennial herbaceous plants, lianas, shrubs, and small trees; most of the species are twining climbing plants.
Ipomoea aquatica, widely known as water spinach, is a semi-aquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots. I. aquatica is generally believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is widely cultivated in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. It grows abundantly near waterways and requires little to no care.
Ipomoea purpurea, the common morning-glory, tall morning-glory, or purple morning glory, is a species in the genus Ipomoea, native to Mexico and Central America.
Ipomoea violacea is a perennial species of Ipomoea that occurs throughout the world with the exception of the European continent. It is most commonly called beach moonflower or sea moonflower as the flowers open at night.
Ipomoea pes-caprae, also known as bayhops, bay-hops, beach morning glory, railroad vine, or goat's foot, is a common pantropical creeping vine belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It grows on the upper parts of beaches and endures salted air. It is one of the most common and most widely distributed salt tolerant plants and provides one of the best known examples of oceanic dispersal. Its seeds float and are unaffected by salt water.
Ipomoea cairica is a vining, herbaceous, perennial plant with palmate leaves and large, showy white to lavender flowers. A species of morning glory, it has many common names, including mile-a-minute vine, Messina creeper, Cairo morning glory, coast morning glory and railroad creeper. The species name cairica translates to "from Cairo", the city where this species was first collected.
Castilla elastica, the Panama rubber tree, is a tree native to the tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It was the principal source of latex among the Mesoamerican peoples in pre-Columbian times. The latex gathered from Castilla elastica was converted into usable rubber by mixing the latex with the juice of the morning glory species Ipomoea alba which, conveniently, is typically found in the wild as a vine climbing Castilla elastica. The rubber produced by this method found several uses, including most notably, the manufacture of balls for the Mesoamerican ballgame ōllamaliztli.
Ipomoea indica is a species of flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae, known by several common names, including blue morning glory, oceanblue morning glory, koali awa, and blue dawn flower. It bears heart-shaped or three-lobed leaves and purple or blue funnel-shaped flowers 6–8 cm (2–3 in) in diameter, from spring to autumn. The flowers produced by the plant are hermaphroditic. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Ipomoea pandurata, known as man of the earth, wild potato vine, manroot, wild sweet potato, and wild rhubarb, is a species of herbaceous perennial vine native to North America. It is a twining plant of woodland verges and rough places with heart-shaped leaves and funnel-shaped white flowers with a pinkish throat. The large tuberous roots can be roasted and eaten, or can be used to make a poultice or infusion. When uncooked, the roots have purgative properties.
Ipomoea hederacea, the ivy-leaved morning glory or Kaladana, is a flowering plant in the bindweed family. The species is native to tropical parts of the Americas, and has more recently been introduced to North America. It now occurs there from Arizona to Florida and north to Ontario and North Dakota. Like most members of the family, it is a climbing vine with alternate leaves on twining stems. The flowers are blue to rose-purple with a white inner throat and emerge in summer and continue until late fall. The leaves are typically three-lobed, but sometimes may be five-lobed or entire. Flowers occur in clusters of one to three and are 2.5–4.5 cm long and wide. The sepals taper to long, recurved tips and measure 12–24 mm long. The species shares some features with the close relative Ipomoea purpurea, and is almost identical in appearance to wild forms of I. nil.
Ipomoea nil is a species of Ipomoea morning glory known by several common names, including picotee morning glory, ivy morning glory, ivy-leaf morning glory, and Japanese morning glory. It is native to the tropical Americas, and has been introduced widely across the world.
Ipomoea carnea, the pink morning glory, is a species of morning glory that grows as a bush. This flowering plant has heart-shaped leaves that are a rich green and 6–9 inches (15–23 cm) long. It can be easily grown from seeds. These seeds are toxic and it can be hazardous to cattle; the toxicity is related to the swainsonine produced by its endophytes, and to bioaccumulation of selenium in the leaves but mostly in the seeds.
Ipomoea leptophylla, the bush morning glory, bush moonflower or manroot, is a species of flowering plant in the bindweed family, Convolvulaceae.
Ipomoea coccinea is a flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae known by several common names including red morning glory, redstar and (ambiguously) Mexican morning glory.
Ipomoea lacunosa, the whitestar, white morning-glory or pitted morning-glory, is a species that belongs to the genus Ipomoea. In this genus most members are commonly referred to as "morning glories". The name for the genus, Ipomoea, has root in the Greek words ips and homoios, which translates to worm-like. This is a reference to the plant's vine-like growth. Lacunosa comes from a Latin word meaning air spaces, correlating with the venation of the leaves. Ipomoea lacunosa is native to the United States and grows annually. The flowers of this species are usually white and smaller than most other morning glories.
Ipomoea arborescens, the tree morning glory, is a rapidly-growing, semi-succulent flowering tree in the family Convolvulaceae. This tropical plant is mostly found in Mexico, and flowers in late autumn and winter. Its common name in Nahuatl is Cazahuatl or Cazahuate.
Ipomoea oenotherae is a species of plant of the morning glory genus, Ipomoea, in the family Convolvulaceae. It derives its name from the resemblance it bears to plants in the genus Oenothera. Ipomoea oenotherae is a succulent and a cryptophyte.
Ipomea macrorhiza is an extremely rare species of tuberous, night-blooming morning glory native to the Southeastern United States.
