Beach morning glory

Description:

Commonly referred to as railroad vine, is a pantropical, trailing vine that routinely colonizes sand dunes. It grows just above the high tide line along coastal beaches, forming large mats that assist in stabilizing sands. Runners are succulent and have a milky colored sap. Branches may reach 10 m (approximately 33 feet) in length.

Habitat:

Hunting Cay, Belize

Notes:

"Beach Morning Glory or Goat's Foot is a common tropical 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." "The sprawling runners spread out from the woody rootstock but the large 2-lobed leaves are sparse and a dense cover on the sand is rarely achieved except in protected situations. This plant is a primary sand stabilizer being one of the first plants to colonise the dune. It grows on almost all parts of the dune but is usually found on the seaward slopes sending long runnersspinifex grass and is a useful sand binder thriving under conditions of sand blast and salt spray."