Ipomoea hederifolia L.

Scarlet Creeper; Scarlet Morning Glory

Vine

Annual

Vascular

Scarlet Creeper is an introduced herbaceous annual member of the Morning Glory family (Convolvulaceae). It is a weedy herbaceous vine native to Central and South America. In Alabama it is primarily found in the southeastern portion of the state. Scarlet Creeper grows on roadsides, fence rows, and as a weed in agricultural crops. It is also widely planted for its brilliant orange flowers. Scarlet Creeper is a twining vine with alternate leaves. The stem is green in color and glabrous. The leaves are petiolate, cordate in outline, and with entire, toothed, or lobed margins. The leaf shape varies greatly, even on a single plant. They may be heart shaped, shallowly or deeply three lobed, or irregularly lobed. The leaves are mostly glabrous or with a few hairs in the axils of the larger veins. Flowers are produced in axillary cymes of 2-5 flowers. The calyx is green and 5-lobed. The corolla is salverform and orange in color. The tube of the corolla is longer than the lobes. The stigma and stamens are exserted. The tubular orange flowers close before noon on hot sunny days, but may remain open all day on cloudy or cool days. The fruit is a capsule. Scarlet Creeper is available as seed from many nurseries. There is also a form with lemon yellow flowers. This species hybridizes with Cypress Vine (Ipomoea quamoclit Linnaeus) to form Cardinal Creeper (Ipomoea x multifida (Raf.) Shinners). Cardinal Creeper is also widely cultivated.--A. Diamond

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Not Native

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