Ipomoea pes-caprae

Plant Characteristics

Cultivation

Scientific Names

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Beach Morning Glory or Goat's Foot (Ipomoea pes-caprae) is a common tropical creeping vine belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It grows on the upper parts of beaches and endures salted air. It is one of the most common and most widely distributed salt tolerant plants and provides one of the best known examples of oceanic dispersal. Its seeds float and are unaffected by salt water.

Originally described by Carl von Linné, it was placed in its current genus by Robert Brown in 1818.

This species can be found on the sandy shores of the tropical Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Goat's Foot is common on the sand dunes of Australia's upper north coast of New South Wales and can also be found along the entire Queensland coastline.

Goat's Foot is a primary sand stabilizer being one of the first plants to colonise the dune. It grows on almost all parts of the dune but is usually found on the seaward slopes sending long runners down towards the toe of the dune. The sprawling runners spread out from the woody rootstock but the large 2-lobed leaves are sparse and a dense cover on the sand is rarely achieved except in protected situations. This plant grows in association with sand spinifex grass and is a useful sand binder thriving under conditions of sand blast and salt spray.

This plant – namely the subspecies brasiliensis – is know as salsa-da-praia in Brazilian folk medicine, and is used to treat inflammation and gastrointestinal disorders.

Read about Ipomoea pes-caprae in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Ipomoea pes-caprae, Roth (I. maritima, R. Br.). St. creeping, seldom twining, 20-60 ft.: roots often 12 ft. long and 2 in. thick: lvs. 1-4 in. long, fleshy, roundish, often broader than long, with 2 glands at the base and prominently pinnate-veined: peduncles usually few-fld., equaling the petioles; corolla nearly 2 in. long, bell- shaped, margin scarcely lobed. Aug.-Oct. Trop. coasts of both hemispheres; drifting sands of coast, Ga. to Texas. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

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References

• Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963

External links

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