White morning glory
Ipomoea alba
family
Convolvulaceae
origin
Exotic
declaration
NIL
For information only
Common names
White morning glory, Moonflower, Evening glory, Giant moonflower, Moonflower vine, Moon vine, Moonvine, Tropical white morning glory.
A scrambling or climbing plant with hairless stems that sometimes have numerous small projections. Its alternately arranged leaves (5-20 cm long) are borne on long stalks and are sometimes slightly fleshy in nature. These leaves are usually heart-shaped with pointed tips, but can sometimes be slightly lobed its trumpet-shaped flowers (10-15 cm wide) have a very long and narrow greenish-white floral tube (7-15 cm long) and five large white spreading lobes these flowers open at night, hence the common name moonflower, and usually wither by early the next morning its mature capsules (2-3 cm long) split open to release four hairless, whitish-coloured, seeds (about 10 mm long).
Impact
Impact
Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is regarded as an environmental weed in New South Wales and Queensland. It is currently mainly found in and near heavily populated areas, but it has the potential to become a serious weed of rainforest gaps and margins, wet sclerophyll forests and riparian areas throughout the coastal districts of Queensland and northern New South Wales. This species was first recorded as naturalised in Queensland in 1985, but has become increasingly common and widespread in south-eastern Queensland since that time. Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is now well established in this region, where it has been observed to form very dense mats of vegetation along waterways and up over riparian vegetation. It also appears on regional and local environmental weeds lists in north-eastern New South Wales. In this region it is most common in the Tweed River district, though substantial infestations are also found in the Clarence River catchment. Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is also listed among the "exotic vines and scramblers" whose invasion of native vegetation is regarded as a "key threatening process" in New South Wales.
Location
Location
Characteristics
Characteristics
Similar Species
Similar Species
Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is regarded as an environmental weed in New South Wales and Queensland. It is currently mainly found in and near heavily populated areas, but it has the potential to become a serious weed of rainforest gaps and margins, wet sclerophyll forests and riparian areas throughout the coastal districts of Queensland and northern New South Wales. This species was first recorded as naturalised in Queensland in 1985, but has become increasingly common and widespread in south-eastern Queensland since that time. Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is now well established in this region, where it has been observed to form very dense mats of vegetation along waterways and up over riparian vegetation. It also appears on regional and local environmental weeds lists in north-eastern New South Wales. In this region it is most common in the Tweed River district, though substantial infestations are also found in the Clarence River catchment. Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is also listed among the "exotic vines and scramblers" whose invasion of native vegetation is regarded as a "key threatening process" in New South Wales.
