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Beach moonflower

Ipomoea violacea

Also called Sea moonflower, Heavenlyblue Morning Glory, Moonflower, Heavenlyblue Morningglory, Ololiuqui

Beach moonflower
Photo: Tauʻolunga, CC BY-SA 3.0

Beach moonflower is a climbing, twining perennial vine of tropical and subtropical coasts, with large white flowers that open at night. It thrives in warm, sunny spots with well-drained soil and needs a sturdy support to climb.

Family
Convolvulaceae (Morning-glory family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water regularly while establishing, then allow the top of the soil to dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Sandy or loamy, well-drained soil; tolerates poor, sandy coastal soil.
Temperature
18–35 °C; protect below 10 °C
How easy
Easy
Safety
Toxic: Seeds contain lysergic acid amides (ergoline alkaloids) and can cause hallucinations and other effects if eaten; the seeds have a history of ritual use as ololiuqui.. Toxic to cats and dogs (ASPCA).
Native range
Trop. & Subtrop. coasts
Climate
wet tropical

About

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.

Other Ipomoea plants

Tropical white morning-glory · Swamp morning-glory · Ginger-leaf morning-glory · Sweet potato · Mile a minute vine · Gloria de la manana · Redstar · Ipomoea corymbosa · Lady Doorly's morning-glory · Beach morning-glory · Oceanblue Morning Glory · Whitestar

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ipomoea violacea by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.

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