Cypress Vine is Back

I'd almost given up on the Cypress Vine this year. I planted one last year that just about covered the porch in the couple of months it was there before the first freeze, and I loved it. Although this vine is an annual, according to all the websites, it self-sows freely; in fact, the jist of the comments was "plant it once, have it forever in your garden - and your neighbors' gardens - and their neighbors' gardens. . ." So, I wasn't worried.

However, as the spring has been rolling along I've been watching for the seedlings and not finding them. They just didn't seem to be coming along at all. This weekend, though, I noticed about four of them, good strong little plants. I'll just have to wait until they're a little bigger and move them to where I want them.

Cypress Vine is a remarkably pretty vine, with delicate, bright green fern-like leaves and clear, bright red star-shaped flowers. It will grow up to 20 feet or more in a single season, and is amazingly drought and heat tolerant. I grow it on my front porch in an area with a strong western exposure that wipes out most other vines and all hanging baskets. The Cypress Vine loves it.

Cypress Vine is a member of the Convolvulus family, and the genus Ipomoea -- the same genus as the Morning Glory. All parts of the plants of this genus are highly toxic. The seeds of the Morning Glory were once highly valued for their hallucinogenic properties, and contain both D-lysergic acid and D-isolysergic acid. Chemical analysis of residue found in the bowls of pipes recovered from Mesoamerican sites as far back as the Olmec civilization have been found to contain the remains of Ipomoea seeds and tobacco, which has hallucinogenic properties of its own when used in great amounts. The common Morning Glory, Ipomoea violacea, is one of two plants that have been identified as the Aztec pharmaceutical and religious plant ololiqui, the other being another member of the Convolvulus family, Rivea corymbosa.

Darwin Note: The above information is provided for interest only. Do not try this at home; all of these plants are highly toxic and will most likely kill you long before you stumble upon the correct dosage. Don't become a casualty of natural selection.

Herbalism References:

Schultes, Richard Evans and Albert Hofmann. Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing and Hallucinogenic Powers. Healing Arts Press: Rochester. 1992.

Wilbert, Johannes. Tobacco and Shamanism in South America. Yale University Press: New Haven. 1987.