Ipomea indica

Occupying the mind with memories of plants is a little bit like meditation. One concentrates on the sensations, the details of a memory and most of all the intricacies of the plant at hand. There is oneness with nature and time flies by.

                 I took the above picture in Geneva in the summer of 2014.

Ipomoea is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Convolvulaceae, with over 500 species. The Wikipedia informs us that it is a large and diverse group with common names including morning glory, bindweed, moonflower, etc.

Ipomea indica is a perennial vine native to tropical habitats. Blue morning glory is one of its favored common names.

Most morning glory flowers unravel into full bloom in the early morning.

The flowers usually start to fade a few hours before their gossamer petals start showing visible curling in on themselves. This would draw my attention immensely as a child. The flowers prefer full sun exposure throughout the day. Some morning glories, however, are night-blooming flowers.

I. indica bears heart-shaped leaves and rich purple trumpet-shaped flowers 6–8 cm in diameter, from spring to autumn. The Latin specific epithet indica means from India, or the East Indies or China. Morning glory was first known in China for its medicinal uses. It was introduced to Japan in the 9th century, and Japanese were the first to cultivate it as an ornamental flower.

The climate of Geneva, where I visited my elder daughter who moved there in the spring of 2014 is temperate and oceanic indicating that the winters are mild, usually with light frosts at night and thawing conditions during the day. Summers are pleasantly warm. Precipitation is sufficient and, relatively well-distributed throughout the year, although autumn is slightly wetter than the other seasons. This being the case, at the botanical garden of Geneva as well as the city I came across morning glory and many other warm climate plants.

Deniz and Emily in 2014

It seems places such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, California and Portugal consider the morning glory to be a noxious and invasive weed.