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Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Ipomoea pes-caprae (Railroad vine)
Loughmiller, Campbell and Lynn

Ipomoea pes-caprae

Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) R. Br.

Railroad Vine, Goat-foot Morning Glory, Bayhops, Beach Morning Glory

Convolvulaceae (Morning-Glory Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: IPPE

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), HI (N), PR (N), VI (N)

A vine with a creeping stem but erect flower stalks with purple or reddish-pink funnel-shaped flowers.

This showy vine sometimes grows across beaches almost to water's edge. The species name, meaning "goat's foot," refers to the shape of the leaf.

 

From the Image Gallery

10 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Vine
Leaf Retention: Evergreen
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Stems trailing and creeping, up to about 15 feet long.
Leaf: Green

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Red
Bloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov , Dec

Distribution

USA: AL , FL , GA , HI , LA , MS , PA , SC , TX
Native Distribution: Georgia and Florida west to Texas.
Native Habitat: Coastal sand dunes.

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Part Shade
CaCO3 Tolerance: High

Benefit

Conspicuous Flowers: yes

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:AGCPAKAWCBEMPGPHIMWNCNEWMVE
Status: FAC FAC FAC FAC FAC FAC
This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

Wildflower Center Seed Bank

LBJWC-1058 Collected 2007-06-30 in Cameron County by Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

1 collection(s) available in the Wildflower Center Seed Bank

Bibliography

Bibref 841 - Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants (2006) Burrell, C. C.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Research Literature

Reslit 227 - Regeneration of Ipomoea pes-caprae after coastal erosion (Mocambique Beach, Santa Catarina Island, Southern Brazil) (2006) T. T. Castellani and F. A. M. Santos
Reslit 344 - The Biological Flora of Coastal Dunes and Wetlands .2. Ipomoea pes-caprae (L) Roth (1992) M. S. Devall
Reslit 323 - Comparative-Study on Seed Proteins of Ipomoea (1995) S. Das and K. K. Mukherjee
Reslit 290 - Arbuscular mycorrhizae in a tropical sand dune ecosystem on the Gulf of Mexico .2. Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the growth of species distributed in different early successional stages (1997) L. Corkidi and E. Rincon
Reslit 308 - Viability and germination of seeds and initial development of the pioneer dune plant Ipomoea pes-caprae (2006) M. W. da Silva and E. L. Voigt
Reslit 723 - In vitro Propagation of Ipomoea pes-caprae (Railroad-Vine) (1993) M. E. Kane, K. T. Bird and T. M. Lee
Reslit 879 - Effects of burial by sand on seedling growth and survival in six tropical sand dune species from the Gulf of Mexico (1996) M. L. Martinez and P. MorenoCasasola
Reslit 881 - Effects of burial by sand and inundation by fresh- and seawater on seed germination of five tropical beach species (2002) M. L. Martinez, G. Vazquez, D. A. White, G. Thivet...
Reslit 984 - Vegetative Propagation of the Dune Building Plant Ipomoea pes-caprae for Use in Dune Rehabilitation Projects (2006) A. G. Neto, S. R. Cunha and E. L. Voig
Reslit 1426 - Growth response of six tropical dune plant species to different nutrient regimes (1997) T. Valverde, I. Pisanty and E. Rincon

This information was provided by the Florida WIldflower Foundation.
Search More Titles in Research Literature

Additional resources

USDA: Find Ipomoea pes-caprae in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Ipomoea pes-caprae in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Ipomoea pes-caprae

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-03-22
Research By: TWC Staff

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