# Oceanblue Morning Glory (*ipomoea indica*)

The Oceanblue Morning Glory (Ipomoea indica) is a breathtaking, fast-growing evergreen vine renowned for its vibrant, color-shifting flowers. Opening as a brilliant royal blue in the cool morning air, the trumpet-shaped blossoms gradually deepen into a rich purple-magenta by the late afternoon before fading. This vigorous climber is a favorite in tropical and subtropical gardens worldwide, using its twining stems to quickly drape over fences, trellises, and native canopy trees. While admired for its ornamental beauty, this species is also known for its highly invasive tendencies in non-native habitats, where its ability to form dense blankets can smother local flora.

- **Category:** [Plants](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/plant)
- **Rarity:** Common
- **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low
- **Snaps:** 3
- **Habitat:** Typically found thriving in disturbed habitats, forest edges, coastal dunes, riparian zones, and urban wasteland areas where ample sunlight is available.

![Oceanblue Morning Glory](https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/117352227/medium.jpg)

## Appearance

This vigorous vine features lush green, heart-shaped or three-lobed leaves with fine, velvety hairs on their undersides. The spectacular funnel-shaped flowers grow in clusters, measuring 6 to 8 centimeters in diameter, starting as a vivid, luminous blue with a lighter throat in the morning and turning pinkish-purple as the day progresses.

## Taxonomy

- **Kingdom:** Plantae
- **Phylum:** Tracheophyta
- **Class:** Magnoliopsida
- **Order:** Solanales
- **Family:** Convolvulaceae
- **Genus:** Ipomoea

## Interesting facts

- Despite its beauty, it is so resilient and fast-growing that it can completely smother and kill mature trees by blocking out all sunlight.
- In some regions, this species is nicknamed 'blue dawn flower' because its stunning blossoms open at first light and close by mid-afternoon.
- The dramatic shift in flower color from blue to magenta is caused by a change in the vacuolar pH of the petal cells as the flower ages throughout the day.

## Special abilities

- **Color Shifting Bloom:** The flowers change color from bright blue to purplish-pink during the day as the internal pH of the petals changes, signaling the age of the bloom to pollinators.
- **Rapid Twining Growth:** The vine utilizes highly sensitive, clockwise-twining stems that rapidly scale surrounding structures and vegetation to reach maximum sunlight.
- **Vigorous Vegetative Regeneration:** It can reproduce and spread aggressively from stem fragments and runners, allowing it to quickly colonize disturbed soils.

## Measurements & details

- **Length:** 300-1500 cm
- **Lifespan:** 5-25 years
- **Clutch Size:** 1-4
- **Incubation:** 7-21 days

## Diet & Feeding

As a photoautotrophic plant, it produces its own energy through photosynthesis, converting sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into sugars.

- **Primary Foods:** Sunlight, Carbon Dioxide, Water, Soil Nutrients

## Ecological connections

- **Mutualism:** [Ruby-throated Hummingbird](https://www.snappit.app/explore/ruby-throated-hummingbird) (*Archilochus colubris*) — Pollinator that feeds on the sweet nectar of the morning glory flowers, facilitating cross-pollination.
- **Eaten by:** Sweetpotato Hornworm (*Agrius cingulata*) — Larvae consume the leaves of the vine as a primary food source.
- **Mutualism:** Western Honey Bee (*Apis mellifera*) — Forages on the nectar and pollen of the open flowers during the morning hours.

## Safety

**Danger:** 1/5 · Very low

No special safety notes yet.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How to identify Oceanblue Morning Glory?

Start with the whole plant, then compare leaf arrangement, leaf edges, stems and any flowers or fruit. Opposite leaves grow in pairs; alternate leaves come one at a time along the stem. These details tell you far more together than a single green leaf does. Plant Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details.

### How long is Oceanblue Morning Glory?

300-1500 cm

### How long does Oceanblue Morning Glory live?

5-25 years

### What does Oceanblue Morning Glory eat?

As a photoautotrophic plant, it produces its own energy through photosynthesis, converting sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into sugars.

### Where is Oceanblue Morning Glory usually found?

Typically found thriving in disturbed habitats, forest edges, coastal dunes, riparian zones, and urban wasteland areas where ample sunlight is available.

### How many eggs does Oceanblue Morning Glory lay?

1-4

### How long do Oceanblue Morning Glory eggs take to hatch?

7-21 days

## Where to spot

- [Puna-Ka'u Historic District](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/puna-kau-historic-district) — Hawaii, US · Historic District
- [Marie Selby Botanical Gardens](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/marie-selby-botanical-gardens) — Florida, US · Botanical Garden

## More Plants

- [white snakeroot](https://www.snappit.app/explore/white-snakeroot) (*Ageratina altissima*)
- [tree-of-heaven](https://www.snappit.app/explore/tree-of-heaven) (*Ailanthus altissima*)
- [western sword fern](https://www.snappit.app/explore/western-sword-fern) (*Polystichum munitum*)
- [common milkweed](https://www.snappit.app/explore/common-milkweed) (*Asclepias syriaca*)

---

Source: [Oceanblue Morning Glory: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/oceanblue-morning-glory)