This striking annual is clothing an obelisk on the Systematic Beds.
The genus Ipomoea belongs to the bindweed family Convolvulaceae and contains over 600 species. Found in tropical and subtropical regions of the northern and southern hemispheres most members of the genus are climbing annuals or perennials, though the genus also contains some evergreen trees and shrubs. Members of the genus have alternate, simple, lobed or toothed leaves, and funnel-shaped or tubular flowers which may be solitary, or borne in cymes, racemes or panicles. I. purpurea, or the common morning glory, is an annual climber from the Americas, and grows to up to 3m in height. It has slender stems, ovate, entire or tri-lobed leaves and trumpet-shaped flowers to 6cm across, which vary in colour from white, to pink and magenta-blue. This is an attractive and easy species to grow, though as the common name suggests, it is at it floral peak early in the morning.