Cypress Vine

A dainty vine.

• Cypress vines are also known as ‘morning glories’, ‘star glories’, ‘cupid flower’s’  ‘cardinal creepers’, ‘cardinal vines’, and ‘hummingbird vines’.
• Cypress vines are from the family Convolvulaceae, the family of morning glories, and the scientific name of Cypress vine is ‘Ipomoea quamoclit’.
• Cypress vines are native to Central America, the northern tropics of South America and Mexico.
• Cypress vines are perennial vines, though they are usually grown as annuals as they do not generally survive cold winters since the vine does not tolerate the cold very well.
• Cypress vines grow from 1 to 9 meters (3 to 30 feet) high, and usually need a vertical support to grown on.

• Cypress vines have a trumpet like flower, which can be red, pink or white in colour, which grows to 3 to 4 cm (1 to 1.5 inches) long.
• Cypress vines can be an invasive pest and are an environmental weed in some parts of Australia and other warm temperature areas in the world.
• Cypress vines have green ferny leaves that grow to become 2 to 9 cm (0.8 to 3.5 inches) in length, and all parts of the plant are poisonous.
• Cypress vines attract butterflies, bees and birds, most notably hummingbirds.
• Cypress vine flowers usually bloom from late spring, through summer and autumn, and are easily grown from seed.

Bibliography:
Ipomoea Quamoclit, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_quamoclit>

PlantFiles: Cypress Vine, Star Glory, Hummingbird Vine, Ipomoea Quamoclit, 2013, Dave’s Garden, <http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/93/>