I stayed in Cocoa Beach FL a couple of days last week to see the launch of the Atlantis.
Of course I ventured out onto the beach in the early morning hoping to find a Beach Morning Glory. I did not have to search very hard as they were all over the place.
Same plant.
This message was edited Jun 13, 2007 7:43 AM
Sepals
Another plant
Side shot of pair
Empty seed pods.
Typical growth
More typical growth
Note that the older leaves have turned yellow and brown. Do all Ipomoea do this?
Another side-view showing flowers and seedpods in various stages of development.
did you get any seeds?
Thanks for sharing these photos!!!
Kevin it's gorgeous. I see the lvs are forked on the end like a
goat's foot. So pes-caprae, goat's foot, railroad vine, beach
morning glory. Thanx for sharing.
Jackie
phicks,
I figured someone would ask me that. But unfortunately, no, I did not.
I found immature seedpods in all stages of development as you can see from the pix and I found empty seedpods but I found no seedpods ready for harvest.
Thinking about it, I have to wonder if when a seedpod does become ripe and ready, that it does not last very many high tides before the seeds are scattered by the water.
p.s.: Here's another seedpod closeup.
nice pic
Jackie,
Thanks, I was wondering what "pes-caprae" meant.
I have more, in case you guys were wondering.
next time your there dig up one of the plants
Joseph,
Yes, the color was the best thing on the beach that overcast morning.
Interestingly enough, there were some Beach Bean (identified this morning for me by the friendly folks over in the Plant Id forum) with blooms the same color. The Beach Bean were growing along the high-tide line just like the morning glorys and had similar tough leaves.
Convergent evolution???
More Beach Bean for comparison.
phicks,
I considered it! But I did not have figure they would survive in my inland, clay-rich, currently drought stricken, Z6 back yard anyway. The nearest beach to me is on Old Hickory Lake--and the sand there was trucked in. And we don't exactly have palm trees or tides.
This message was edited Jun 13, 2007 1:43 PM
Love the beach bean vine too. Wonder why the colors are so
close? Could it have anything to do with the high salt content?
Just wondering.
Jackie
This message was edited Jun 13, 2007 1:14 PM
I'd bet that the similar bloom color is a trait acquired to attract the same pollinator(s) which might prefer that particular color. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_Evolution
It would be interesting to know what bloom colors other plants that grow in the "high-tide-line niche" exhibit.
Also, both species are sprawled across the sand in the same way and both their foliages both have a thick solid feel to them.
Disclaimer: I am not a biologist and Ron might chime in here at any time and tell me that I do not know what I am talking about.
This message was edited Jun 13, 2007 3:10 PM
Kevin, They must store water in those thick lvs, using it as needed.
Amazing how plants adapt.
Jackie
Yes, convergent adaptation. Evolution would indicate that there is an end to adaptation, the final evolutionary adaptation, the consumation of all adaptation, that now is finished. That is a falshood.
Thank you for your excellent pix! Thank you for sharing, and PULEASE, do this again from time to time. You couldn't know that there are those of us that have gone to extraordinary lengths to get seeds to grow this specie, just to see what they look like when they bloom. You posted them in the perfect place. Frank
Patootie, I'm curious, too - and pH and what types of minerals predominate in that sand and how does the ocean figure into it ... Frank, any insight into how this habitat might have shaped and colored these plants?
Thanks, Kevin - this is my favorite way to "travel" around our planet
All great shots, Kevin. I posted this one a while back. I got this pic in Satellite Beach. I was amazed also by the beautiful color they brought to the beach.
gardenpom,
Yes, these MGs and the Beach Bean were the only real color on the overcast morning when I took these photos. I have plenty more.
Here's a supermacro shot of a nearly mature seed pod.
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...14...
...15...
...16...
...17...
The following were actually taken the very next morning. The skies had cleared.
...18...
The sun is still out.
...19...
Last one.
Kevin - Great photos(!)...
Your thoughts regarding the pollinators may quite be the case...makes sense to me...
TTY,...
Ron
