I walk down a residential street and out of the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of a vibrant blue color. There is an alley between houses and about halfway down a cascade of stunning morning glories blankets a fence. It is so unexpected in this sedate neighborhood full of square-cut hedges with an occasional dot of color from pansies or marigolds. The riot of color speaks of homeowners with playful tendencies, perhaps people with a penchant for calypso or Cajun music. I have grown morning glories myself, and it is very satisfying to see the “reveal” every morning. I do think they are one of God’s great creations.
History
According to Wikipedia, morning glory was first known in China for its medicinal uses, due to the laxative properties of its seeds.
Ancient Mesoamerican civilizations used the morning glory species Ipomoea alba to convert the latex from the Castilla elastica tree and also the guayule plant to produce bouncing rubber balls. The sulfur in the morning glory's juice served to vulcanize the rubber, a process antedating Charles Goodyear's discovery by at least 3,000 years. Aztec priests in Mexico were also known to use the plant's hallucinogenic properties.
Description
Native to Central America and Mexico, the plant is a climber with twining stems up to 5 meters long and is densely to scattered with long hairy trichomes. The finely hairy, emerald green leaves are ovate to almost circular, 5 to 14 cm long. The base is heart-shaped; the edge is entire or lobed three to five times. The leaf lobes are pointed or tapering.
The funnel-shaped, colorful flowers — blue to reddish purple, with whitish tube — are quite showy and are individually up to five in often dense cymose groups, in which fully developed flowers and developing buds stand together. They open in the morning and close by the afternoon. The long, thorny hairy sepals have a length of 15 to 25 mm, they are long lanceolate and have a linear-lanceolate tip. The crown is blue, purple or almost scarlet red. The throat is often colored white. The crown tube has a length of 3 to 5 cm; the crown hem has a width of 4 to 5 cm.
The fruits are almost spherical to spherical capsule fruits with a diameter of 8 to 12 mm. The seeds are pear-shaped and densely covered with short trichomes.
Behavior
Most morning glory flowers unravel into full bloom in the early morning. The flowers usually start to fade a few hours before the "petals" start showing visible curling. They prefer full solar exposure throughout the day and mesic soils. Some morning glories, such as Ipomoea muricata, are night-blooming flowers.
In some places, such as the Australian bushland, some species of morning glories develop thick roots and tend to grow in dense thickets. They can quickly spread by way of long, creeping stems. By crowding out, blanketing and smothering other plants, morning glories turn into a serious invasive weed problem.
Cultivation
In cultivation, most are treated as perennial plants in frost-free areas and as annual plants in colder climates, but some species tolerate winter cold. Some species are strictly annual, producing many seeds, and some perennial species are propagated by cuttings. Some moonflowers, which flower at night, are also in the morning glory family.
Because of their fast growth, twining habit, attractive flowers and tolerance for poor, dry soils, some morning glories are excellent vines for creating summer shade on building walls when trellised, thus keeping the building cooler and reducing heating and cooling costs.
Popular varieties in contemporary western cultivation include Sunspots, Heavenly Blue, moonflower, cypress vine and cardinal climber. The cypress vine is a hybrid, with the cardinal climber as one parent.
Many morning glories self-seed in the garden. They have a hard seed coat, which delays germination until late spring. Germination may be improved by soaking in warm water.
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in many places, and the descendants of garden escapees now grow wild. Fast-growing and self-seeding, it may be used to hide unsightly fences or walls, and may also be used decoratively on trellises. This is a climbing annual herb with three-pointed leaves 3 to 8 centimeters long. The flowers are several centimeters wide and appear in various shades of blue, pink or rose, often with white stripes or edges or blends of colors. Common cultivars include Scarlet O'Hara, Early Call and Rose Silk.
Hybrids — for instance with I. purpurea — have been developed. Some of these have been given the name Imperial Japanese morning glory, which is not official. Cultivars include Sunrise Serenade. Alternative nomenclatures include Ipomoea nil x imperialis, as in Cameo Elegance or Ipomoea nil Imperialis. It is a frost-tender annual in colder areas or if placed in shaded area in the garden but can be kept as a perennial if it is well managed and placed in full sun during the winter.
Chemistry and ethnobotany
The seeds of many species of morning glory contain ergoline alkaloids such as the psychedelic ergonovine and ergine. Seeds of Ipomoea tricolor and Turbina corymbosa are used as psychedelics. The seeds of morning glory can produce a similar effect to LSD when taken in large doses, often numbering into the hundreds. Though the chemical LSA is not legal in some countries, the seeds are found in many gardening stores; however, some claim the seeds from commercial sources can sometimes be coated in some kind of pesticide or methylmercury — although the latter is illegal in the UK and the U.S. These pesticide coatings could be especially dangerous if one has a history of liver disorders, and they may also cause neural damage. So, Terrence McKenna advocated growing and harvesting one's own Heavenly Blue morning glory seeds to use for this purpose to avoid any possibility of pesticide coatings.
Morning glories in Japan
Morning glories are popular in Japan. They are believed to have been introduced there directly from China in the Heian period of the 8th to 9th centuries. During the Edo period of the 17th to 19th centuries — as more people started to live in cities — a fad for growing potted morning glories of different colors and sizes swept through the country. The pots are often equipped with cylindrical structures called andon shitate, which look like Japanese lanterns at night.
In early summer, morning glory markets are held in large cities in Japan, where merchants and hobbyists sell the flowers. The largest of such markets is the Iriya Morning Glory Market, July 6–8, held along the roads surrounding Shingenji Temple, commonly called "Irya Kishibojin," in Iriya, Taito-ku, Tokyo.
Culinary uses
Ipomoea aquatica, known as water spinach, water morning glory, water convolvulus, ong-choy, kang-kung or swamp cabbage, is popularly used as a green vegetable, especially in East and Southeast Asian cuisines. In the U.S., I. aquatica is a federal noxious weed and can be illegal to grow, import, possess or sell without a permit. A market exists, though, for the plant's powerful culinary potential. As of 2005, the state of Texas has acknowledged that water spinach is a highly prized vegetable in many cultures and has allowed it to be grown for personal consumption, in part because it is known to have been grown in Texas for more than 15 years and has not yet escaped cultivation. Because it goes by so many names, it can easily be slipped through import inspections, and it is often available in Asian or specialty produce markets.
Morning glory in popular culture
According to Pop Culture Wiki, “(What's the Story) Morning Glory?” is the second studio album by English rock band Oasis, released on 2 October 1995 by Creation Records. The record propelled Oasis from being a crossover indie act to a worldwide rock phenomenon, and according to various critics, was a significant record in the timeline of British indie music. The band's most commercially successful release sold a record-breaking 347,000 copies in its first week on sale, spent 10 weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart, and reached number four in the U.S. Billboard 200. At the 2010 Brit Awards, “(What's the Story) Morning Glory?” was named the greatest British album since 1980. It has sold over 22 million copies worldwide and appears on several lists of the greatest albums in rock music. As of July 2016, it is the UK's fifth best-selling album of all time, having sold over 4.7 million copies.
According to songfacts.com, this song is about someone who is addicted to methamphetamines or cocaine and how you really don’t have a great chance of a good future when you are addicted. The basic point of the song is that these users need to “wake up” and realize that they are ruining their lives and futures.
Noel Gallagher wrote the lyric. Here’s some analysis:
“All your dreams are made when you’re chained to the mirror and the razor blade.” Mirrors and razor blades are often used to chop up cocaine for snorting.
“Tomorrow never knows what it doesn’t know too soon.” When people are addicted to cocaine or meth, usually they live day to day by just keeping the drug in their system and constantly using it. This line is a tribute to the Beatles song “Tomorrow Never Knows.”
According to Wikipedia, Morning Glory is a 2010 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Roger Michell and written by Aline Brosh McKenna. Starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson and Jeff Goldblum, the film tells the story of an upstart television producer who accepts the challenge of reviving a morning show program with warring co-hosts.
Morning Glory was released in theaters on November 10, 2010 by Paramount Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $60 million against a $40 million budget.
Newly hired as a producer on a national morning-news program called "Daybreak," Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) decides to revitalize the low-rated show by bringing in legendary anchorman Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford). Pomeroy, however, refuses to do puff pieces like celebrity gossip and fashion, and clashes with his co-host (Diane Keaton). Meanwhile, Becky's romance with a colleague begins to unravel, leaving her struggling to save her relationship, her job and the show.
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