Family: Convolvulaceae
Common name: Little bell, Aiea morning glory, Three lobe morning glory
The name little bell suits this small pink or purple flower so beautifully. This fast-growing plant, grows as long vines 1-1.5 meters long, climbing on other plants or structures, producing flowers on long stalks that grow from stem nodes. It’s native to tropical America, but the plant is now spread all over the world and sometimes considered as an invasive plant.
It grows in empty plots, along roadsides, grasslands; abundantly in the wild, sometime choking other plants with their vines. The flowers are tubular, growing on small stalks. The plants contains a milky sap which is toxic.
Little bell flowers are smaller than typical morning glory flowers, have a slightly darker interior and lighter petals fused together in the middle. The flowers are commonly seen in pink, red and violet shades. These flowers then form brown seed pods.
The leaves are eaten as vegetables and also sold in local markets in some parts of the world. Little bell plants have some medicinal uses in curing headaches and stomach ailments.
Propagation is from seeds.
