CONVOLVULACEAE 



CONVOLVULUS FAMILY 



HEDGE BINDWEED 



Con'vol'viilus sepium L, 



In Europe this species is said to be pollinated only by a cer- 

 tain moth, and in regions where the moth does not occur the 

 Hedge Bindweed is also absent. 

 Although universally 

 considered a most bother- 

 some weed, this Bindweed 

 rivals the rest of the Morn- 

 ing Glory tribe in beauty 

 of its flowers. It is common 

 along railroads and road- 

 sides and in fields and 

 thickets nearly everywhere 

 east of the Rockies, as well 

 as in Europe and Asia. 



It is perennial by a 

 slender underground stem, 

 which if broken by culti- 

 vation gives rise to new 

 plants from the pieces. 

 The aerial stems grow very 

 rapidly and become 3-10 

 feet long. They twine about 

 any support that is avail- 

 able, and always turning 

 counterclockwise. 



The flowering season is June to September, 

 the flowers opening very early in the morning 

 and closing as the sun goes down. Sometimes 

 on moonlight nights they remain open and are visited by certain 

 moths. In daytime they are visited by butterflies. The corolla 

 is rose-pink with white stripes or sometimes is all white. The 2 

 bracts on the peduncle are large, close to the flower and com- 

 pletely inclosing the calyx. 



The Hairy Hedge Bindweed or Hairy Wild Morning Glory, 

 Convolvulus sepium L. var. pubescens (Gray) Fernald, is known by 

 botanists to be rare about the Great Lakes. It has been reported 

 only once from Illinois, and that more than 25 years ago from Lake 

 county. It is a smaller plant, hairy and with smaller leaves that are 

 more oblong and have triangular tips. 



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