Encyclopedia : Wild & local strains

Afternoon flower-opening Morning glory, Ipomoea nil

Copyright 1998-2022 Yoshiaki Yoneda

It is a characteristic of the Ipomoea nil flower that the flower opens early in the morning and withers as the morning progresses, but the author has found a morning glory that flowers instead from the afternoon to the evening. This plant was designated as Mexican Y031 because the author found it among plants of the Y030 strain and named it the afternoon flower-opening morning glory, Ipomoea nil.
Y031's flower is light blue and its flower tube is white. The diameter of the flower is about 4 to 5 cm and the length is 6 cm; hence the flower appears slender. There are long white epidermal hairs to the sepal. One or two flowers open per peduncle. The distinguishing characteristic of this individual is that its flowers open late in the day, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Therefore, admiration of the flower occurs in the evening, and the withering begins at about 10:00 p.m. It may be said that this Ipomoea nil is a moonflower type of morning glory. Even on the day when a bud opens, its flower is still small. This seems to be a cause of the delay in flower-opening. When a flower bud is treated with a dark period, flowering time becomes late, and under continuous light conditions it becomes early.
As this strain has been crossed with strains that open early, the flowering time's genetic background will be examined in a future study. If flowering time can be regulated freely, it will be possible to admire the morning glory throughout the day.
Mexico Y031-1
Panoramic view
Mexico Y031-2
Panoramic view
Mexico Y031-3
Panoramic view
Mexico Y031-4
Cotyledon
Mexico Y031-5
1st leaf
Mexico Y031-6
Early stage of the flower opening
Mexico Y031-7
Leaf and flower
Mexico Y031-8
Flower
Mexico Y031-9
Color change and initiation of withering in the flower
Mexico Y031-10
Capsule
Mexico Y031-11
Capsule

Edited by Yuuji Tsukii (Lab. Biology, Science Research Center, Hosei University)