Travel Story: In Pursuit of the Bush Morning Glory

bush morning glory Ipomoea leptophylla

One reason I became a plant ecologist was that my ecology class professor at University of Michigan, Dr. William Benninghoff, left, as planned, in mid-semester. He did research in the arctic and seasons in the tundra don’t wait for anyone. Ah, I observed, ecologists travel!

I had a chance to experience that again this summer.

From Indiana University came Ph. D. student Wesley Beaulieu and Professor Keith Clay to collect morning glory seeds. Not just any morning glory but the bush morning glory Ipomoea leptophylla. Since I had studied the bush morning glory, I agreed to be the local guide.

Plant Story: Morning Glories

morning glory, Amazon basin, Peru

   I like morning glories. Bright blue flowers that weren’t there last night--and that vanish in the early afternoon. Vines that drape over branches and walls. 

Ipomoea obscura

   Morning glories are in the genus Ipomoea (family Convolvulaceae). They are found throughout the tropics but especially in the New World. A few get north or south into temperate regions.

   There are 300-500 species of Ipomoea. (Why the range? Perhaps the same one was named twice, perhaps one that is widespread is really two. As data accumulates, the range of numbers decreases).