Morning glory is a common name for over a thousand species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae.

According to Wikipedia, the Ipomoea alba of the family Convolvulaceae, sometimes called the moonflower vine, is a species of night-blooming morning-glory, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, from northern Argentina north to Mexico and Florida.

It is a perennial herbaceous liana growing to a height of 5-30 m tall with twining stems. The leaves are entire or three-lobed, 5-15 cm long, with a 5-20 cm long stem. The flowers are fragrant fluted funnels, alabaster white or pink, and large, 8-14 cm in diameter. The flowers of this climbing vine, also known as the "evening glory", open quickly in the early evening and last through the night, remaining open until touched by the morning sun.

The name Moonflower derives because they bloom in the evening, and are round in shape like a full moon. This vine graced our patio and walls for years in the Mediterranean, and even when it became too invasive and was cut down to the ground or removed, it always came back to life in the spring. Often its seeds buried in the soil would lie dormant for a several seasons before surfacing as a plant again.

An extremely delicate flower on a hardy vine! A quicktime video of it opening can be seen at this site:

http://www.moonlightsys.com/themoon/flower.html