Japanese name: ハリアサガオ（針朝顔） Scientific name:Ipomoea turbinata
[Overview]
A climbing annual or perennial.
The whole plant is almost hairless.
The vines branch well, grow to several meters, and twine around other plants.
The vines and leaf stalks have many hooked prickle-like projections that curve downward, but they do not hurt when touched.
The leaves are alternate, ovate to round, 7–18 cm long and 6.5–15 cm wide, with a heart-shaped base and an abruptly pointed tip.
The leaf margins are entire.
The leaf stalks are 4–12 cm long.
One to several flowers grow in the leaf axils and open at night; they are funnel-shaped, about 5 cm across, pale reddish purple with a darker reddish purple center.
The fruit is an ovate capsule that hangs downward, is hairless, and has a fruit stalk that thickens toward the tip.
[History]
It is said to have been introduced to Japan as an ornamental in the Edo period (1758).
