Know your alien invasive plant: Morning Glory
Hillcrest Conservancy will produce weekly articles regarding the various alien invasive plant species in the Highway area to help the community identify and eliminate them.
THIS week, Hillcrest Conservancy takes a look at the Morning Glory as part of its series of articles on alien invasive plants to help the community to identify and eradicate them from their gardens.
The Morning Glory’s scientific name is Ipomoea indica but it is also known as White moon flower, the Meerjarige purper winde (Afrikaans) or ubatata wentaba (isiZulu).
Description: It is a herbaceous perennial with hairy stem that twines around its host and can climb up to three metres or higher. The leaves are bright green, heart-shaped with a variable length of between 40-150mm. The flowers are also variable from purple, blue, reddish ,magenta to white sometimes with a contrasting stripe running from the base of the trumpet to the outer edge of the petal. Flowering occurs from November to May but they can also flower all year under favourable conditions.
Where does the species come from? It was first introduced from the West Indies.
What is its invasive status in South Africa? This is a category 1b NEMBA plant and must be removed from your property to avoid prosecution.
Where is it a problem: KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.
Why is it a problem: It grows in many gardens and is usually seen growing as a creeper on a fence or climbing up other vegetation often over-topping and smothering them.
How does it spread? By small seeds.
Does the plant have any uses? It is seen as an ornamental plant but due to a lack of natural predators as well as a favourable climate this plant has become a pest.
Contact Ian Pattrick on 079 909 5458 or Hillcrest Conservancy chairman, George Victor, on 073 901 3902 or e-mail georgevic@telkomsa.net
