ADDISON FLORIST CHICAGO

Giant White Moonflower 20 Seeds/Seed Ipomoea alba

The moonflower is a vigorous twining vine that is very fast growing in really hot weather. It is a tender tropical perennial but is now seeing popular use as an annual vine in colder areas. This close relative of the morning glory has similar heart shaped leaves that are a rich green and 4-8 (10-20 cm) inches long. They provide a beautiful backdrop for the spectacular moonflowers. This vine also known as the evening glory as its buds open in late afternoon and last only until morning's light transforms them into a limp shriveled mass.

On Seeds: I was intensely confused by these seeds. I thought they were berries contained in fruit, which does sound silly when you think about it! The confusing part is the two-layered fleshy tissue covering the seed-coat, in this case called a 'sarcotesta'.

The big green pod these things develop in is the actual fruit; a compound, dehiscent, capsular fruit composed of three connate locules. The locules develop from the three fused carpels/ovaries of the flowers. The seeds develop from the individual ovules. The outer layer of the ovule, the integument (monocots have 1 integument) develops into the seed-coat, which is the hard inner part of the thing in the centre of my picture.

In the genus Iris, many species have developed arils -fleshy appendages which, like fruit, function to encourage animal dispersal ('zoochory'?, not really endozoochory; perhaps 'psuedo-endozoochory'?). An aril may derive from a number of different tissues; in the genus Iris it may derive from either 1.)

Uniquely in Iris foetidissima and only one other member of the Iridaceae, Neomarica variabilis, the aril has enclosed the entire seed, so that actually the seed has a seed-coat which doubles back on itself; in these two cases the fleshy layer surrounding the seed is called the 'sarcotesta'.

Considering its natural habitat, tucked away under scrub and hedgerows, this bright colour in the late autumn peeking out from under the leafless branches looks very enticing. The bright red colour and size of the berry is a typical symptom of bird dispersal, and birds are indeed tempted to grab one. In actuality, this plant is a trickster; the berries are a poor forage, and birds generally drop them to the ground soon afterwards without ingesting them, often after they have perched on a safe branch, above more scrub. Plants generally loose their berries at a slow rate; it may be that birds learn to ignore them, or that certain species have realised that they are being duped!

Thank you Sonnia for pointing out my BS!

seed head ready to release into wind. Taken in Botley, ley hill, buckinghamshire, uk with nikon D80 with 18-55mm standard lens