Ipomoea nil

Native to tropical and subtropical America, it is a twining annual climber widely cultivated as Japanese morning glory. Its leaves are often three-lobed, and long, pointed, bristly sepals surround funnel-shaped flowers with pale throats. Each flower lasts one day. In Japan, the species developed into a floricultural plant, with unusual flower and leaf forms selected during the Edo period. Some of these historic mutant lines are still maintained by the National BioResource Project and used to study plant genetics, including flower development and responses to day length. Photographed in the department of Atlantico, Colombia.