Morning Glory

Description:

Herbaceous perennial climber. Stems twining, up to 3.5 m long. Leaves large, broadly ovate-heart-shaped, narrowly pointed at the apex. Inflorescences, axillary, few to many-flowered. Corolla funnel-shaped, 6-9 cm in diameter, usually blue with a white centre but many cultivars with other colours are known.

Habitat:

South America, Mesoamerica, North America, Caribbean, Africa & Madagascar. Native to Mexico, Central America and tropical South America; introduced and naturalised elsewhere in the tropics

Notes:

The seeds, vines, flowers, and leaves contain ergoline alkaloids, and have been used for centuries by many Mexican Native American cultures as an entheogen; they were known to the Aztecs as tlitliltzin, the Nahuatl word for "black" with a reverential suffix. In South America, the seeds are also known as "badoh negro".