Redstar (Ipomoea coccinea L.)
Also known as Mexican morning glory, Mexican morning-glory, red morning glory, red morning-glory.
↑Summary
An annual vine native to northern Mexico, which has expanded its range northeast into much of eastern North America.
↑Range - Expand
| Legend | Color |
| Introduced | |
| Introduced or Not Present |
This tentative map is based on our own research. It may have limited data on Canada and/or Mexico, and there is some subjectivity in our assignment of plants as introduced vs. expanded. Read more in this blog post.
↑Description & Identification
An annual vine that climbs by twining around supporting vegetation or other structures. Leaf shape is highly variable, often heart-shaped but also often variably-lobed, sometimes with abrupt corners, particularly near the base of the leaf, which usually extends well behind the point of attachment to the stem.
Flowers are deep orangish-red, with an orangeish-yellow center and accents, trumpet-shaped, consisting of five fused petals, coming to neat angles creating a neat pentagonal shape.
↑Similar Plants
↑Habitat
In North America, mostly found in anthropogenic habiats, including along roads, railroads, fencerows, old fields, and industrial areas.
↑Faunal Associations
The bright red, trumpet-shaped flowers attract hummingbirds, and are also visited by some butterflies.
There are numerous insects, including several beetles and moths, that feed broadly on plants of the Ipomoea genus; as there are many native species in this genus throughout North America, these insects are found throughout much of this species' introduced range as well.
↑Links & External Resources
• Ipomoea coccinea (Redstar) | USDA PLANTS Database (About This Site)
• Ipomoea coccinea | Go Botany (About This Site)
• Ipomoea coccinea (red morningglory) | CABI Invasive Species Compendium (About This Site)
• Ipomoea coccinea | Biota of North America Project (BONAP) (About This Site)
• Ipomoea coccinea | NatureServe Explorer (About This Site)
↑Photo gallery
