If you mention Morning Glory Vine to most Aussies they'll wrinkle up their nose in disdain.
In many places Australian bushland and rainforest is fast disappearing under a dense blanket of this vine.
as you can witness here.
The species of Morning Glory commonly occurring in Brisbane and around Brisbane’s rainforest remnants are Blue Morning Glory (Ipomoea indica) and Common Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea), both of which originated from America.
Now all of that background information is to prepare you for a surprise sighting I made recently as I travelled to an appointment at 9:00am along a fairly busy road in a bushy area between suburbs in the outer area of Brisbane where I live .
It was so amazing that Tony and I returned to take some photos to show you.
This required us to park the car and walk back along the road behind a safety barrier.
The safety barrier is there because there is a steep drop off the side of the road to a gulley and lots of yukky, rough bush.
but if you keep walking round the bend you come to a more open area
and this !
The gulley has been taken over by Morning Glory.
and in the morning sunlight it was truely a glorious sight.
A sea of blue, blue flowers covers the ground and the trees.
Now that it has such a hold here it will be very hard to eradicate before it kills all the other vegetation including the trees.
.
However, it puts on lovely show doesn't it?
Cheers.
PS. Tony and I took all these photos in that one small area. Isn't it amazing that you can find these little gems just around the corner if you just keep your eyes open ?
Big Hugs to Ton for pulling over and sharing this field of purple. We are all out of color here in my garden. Just grey grey grey and a little more grey. You all are crazy these are great. Have a pleasant Sunday.
ReplyDeleteI've seen that plant a few times here, but only in display type gardens in the tropical houses or whatever. I always thought they were very pretty but had no idea it was pest plant that did so much damage.
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! Like louise,I didnt realise the plant was a pest.
ReplyDeleteI know it's a weed but it still looks so pretty!
ReplyDeleteThat is so beautiful, like waves of the ocean washing across the gully.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is a nuisance plant you cant help admiring it!
Here in Georgia, Japanese kudzu swallows everything and it doesn't even have pretty blue flowers -- just green leaves.
ReplyDeleteOur purple wisteria vines will kill trees, however.
I just LOVE morning glories, but have never seen them grow like weeds here. I guess it's fair trade for all the eucalyptus trees that have taken over our coastal hills.
ReplyDeleteI've seen those in gardening catalogues here. I had no idea it was a rampant pest. But a beautiful one. You went way out of your way to get that pic. That's what we call suffering for one's art!
ReplyDeleteMorning glories did not originate in the US, but in China.
ReplyDeleteMem FYI:
ReplyDeleteThe plants actually got here via the settlers who arrived from the US gold rush, and some sailors who had bits of the vine and some seeds caught in their cargo goods, via South America and Asian sailing routes. Once here, they (the plants) started to act as strangler vines if allowed to run amok. People had thought them so pretty and so easy to grow - they brightened up people's yards, and discretely covered the sides of outhouses (where the 'dunnies' or privvy were).
Coming here from your comment on our blog. Yep, that's it. Same pest here. I hate roundup but we may have to use it in spots for something this invasive. It is pretty for sure, but not at the expense of everything else.
ReplyDelete