Morning glory - Ipomoea nil (Pharbitis nil); morning glory

Japanese: アサガオ(朝顔) - アサガオ（英語表記）Ipomoea nil(Pharbitis nil); morning glory

It is an annual plant belonging to the Convolvulaceae family, native to Asia. It was introduced to Japan from China during the Nara period and cultivated for medicinal purposes, but from the mid-Edo period, it began to be actively bred for ornamental purposes. The stem is creeping and curls to the left. The leaves are deeply three-lobed, heart-shaped, with long petioles and alternate. However, horticultural varieties have a variety of leaf shapes and are variegated. It is a short-day plant that blooms from summer to autumn. The flowers are in the leaf axils, the calyx is deeply lobed into five, and the petals are funnel-shaped sympetalous. There are five stamens and one pistil, and the flowers last for one day, wilting around 10:00 a.m. and dropping off the petals the next day. The flowers are originally pale blue, but come in a variety of colors such as white, pink, purple, and red, and there are many horticultural varieties such as large-flowered, double-flowered, car-flowered, lion-flowered, and wind-bell-flowered. The seeds are called kengoshi and are mainly used as a laxative. If planted in a sunny location with good drainage, they will bloom if temperatures stay above 25°C for a week, so you can enjoy the flowers for a long time until late autumn. Academically, they are widely used in genetic research and flowering physiology research, and are world-famous.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ヒルガオ科に属する一年草で，アジア原産。日本には奈良時代に中国から渡来し，薬用として栽培されていたが，江戸時代中期より観賞用に品種改良が盛んに行なわれるようになった。茎はつる性で左巻きに巻きつく。葉は深く3裂した心臓形で長い葉柄をもち互生する。しかし園芸品種では葉の形も多様で，また斑入りもある。短日性植物で，夏から秋にかけて開花する。花は葉腋につき，萼は深く5つに裂け，花弁は漏斗状の合弁花。おしべ5本，めしべ1本があり，1日花で朝 10時頃にはしぼみ，翌日には花弁が落ちる。花の色はもともとは淡青色であるが，白，ピンク，紫，赤などいろいろあり，また大輪咲き，八重咲き，車咲き，獅子咲き，風鈴咲きなど多くの園芸品種がある。種子を牽牛子 (けんごし) と呼び，おもに下剤に使われる。日当りがよく，また排水のよい土地に植えると，25℃以上の温度が1週間続けば開花するので，秋遅くまで長く花を楽しめる。学術上は遺伝学の研究や，開花生理の研究に広く使われ世界的に有名である。

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