 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Moonflower

   December 27, 2021

    DaleH_moonflower2

   Photographer:  Dale Hugo

   Summary Authors:  Dale Hugo

   My neighbor couldn’t wait to show me this beautiful  moonflower as
   she has waited several seasons for the vines to come to maturity and
   produce flowers. This was the first one she’d seen — and it was worth
   the effort and waiting. But keep them under control as they can spread!

   The flower is about 7 inches (~18 cm) across and has a unique,
   5-pointed star shape. The fragrance is to me reminiscent of
    gardenias. As their name implies, they bloom at night and fold up
   at dawn. The moonflower vine, botanically Ipomoea alba, is often
   mistaken for its cousins, the  morning glory and  sweet potato
   plant. Moonflowers contains several compounds poisonous to the human
   body, including  atropine and  scopolamine, both of which
   interfere with the nervous system.

   When I was a teenager, I made money ‘ walking the beans’ — soybeans.
   Farmers would hire us to chop out weeds, second growth corn, pumpkin
   vines, and morning glories. These vines could grow through a row of
   soybeans for a long way, intertwining with the beans and making their
   removal very difficult. One had to chop them out with a corn knife — a
   machete we field workers carried. Leaving the vining plants would
   invariably jam the bean combine. It was like trying to harvest rope!
     * Arlington Heights, Illinois Coordinates: 42.0884, -87.9806

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Plant Links

     *  Discover Life
     *  Tree Encyclopedia
     *  What are Phytoplankton?
     *  Encyclopedia of Life - What is a Plant?
     *  USDA Plants Database
     *  University of Texas Native Plant Database
     *  Plants in Motion
     *  What Tree is It?

-
   Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the  Universities
   Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu
 
