Weedy but splendid, Morning Glories come in a range of colors, three of which were growing in this one patch in Beechview. Shades of violet and pink are the most common, but here we also have a pale blue.
For a description of the species, see the Ipomoea purpurea reference page.
A delicate-looking little morning glory that mostly clambers along the ground and is well adapted to survive in frequently mowed fields.
It seems to make bees happy, and we approve of things that make bees happy. The bee gives us a good idea of the scale of the flower.
Colors vary from pure white into deep pink, often with stripes.
These plants were all blooming in St. Peter’s Cemetery in the Arlington neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
For a description of the species, see the Convolvulus arvensis reference page.
A delicate-looking wild morning glory that can survive mowing to light up lawns. These were photographed June 8 on a hillside in Beechview.
For a fuller description, see the Convolvulus arvensis reference page.
Morning Glories are very common weeds here; they can be quite rampant, but they reward us with gorgeous flowers. By far the majority are in deep purple or pink, but the genetics of the species are variable enough to have produced a wide variety of cultivated colors, and we sometimes see unusual colors in the wild. Here is a wild pale-blue form that grew in Beechview.
The pure white form is by far the more common; we have recently seen a beautiful bicolor, but the pure white is as elegant as a wedding gown. We may curse this weed when it invades our hedges and gardens, but even the most heartlessly intolerant gardener probably sneaks an admiring look at the flowers when no one is paying attention. These flowers were blooming in a little patch of dirt along Carson Street in the middle of the South Side.
Gray makes Calystegia (which he apparently named) a division of the genus Convolvulus. He describes the genus, division, and species:
CONVOLVULUS [Tourn.] L. BINDWEED. Corolla funnel-form to campanulate. Stamens included. Capsule globose, 2-celled, or imperfectly 4-celled by spurious partitions between the 2 seeds, or by abortion 1-celled, mostly 2-4-valved. Herbs or somewhat shrubby plants, twining, erect, or prostrate. (Name from convolvere, to entwine.)
CALYSTEGIA (R. Br.) Gray. Stigmas oval to oblong; calyx inclosed in
2 broad leafy bracts.
C. sepium L. (HEDGE B.) Glabrous or essentially so; stem high-twining or sometimes trailing extensively; leaves triangular-halberd-shaped, acute or pointed, the basal lobes obliquely truncate and often somewhat toothed or sinuate-lobed or merely rounded; peduncles chiefly elongated, 4-angled; bracts rounded to sharp-acuminate at tip; corolla white or rose-color, 3-5 cm. long. (Including var. americanus Sims.) Moist alluvial soil or along streams. June-Sept. (Eurasia.)
