Identification: Climbing vine or shrub with adventitious roots, rapidly spreading. Trumpet- shaped flower, white or blue, but many species have various hues. Flower typically opens in morning. Seed is black and contains the drug.Habitat: Over 500 species worldwide—tolerant of both poor, dry soils and wetlands. Mexican varieties are especially hallucinogenic. I. purpurea (“manto de la Virgen”) found in the Yucatán has been used for hundreds of years in Mayan medicine and rituals. Seeds also used by the indigenous Zapotecs from which they made the powerful drug badoh negro; morning glories of this species grow profusely on the eastern shore of Cozumel island, throughout the Yucatán, and in and around Oaxaca. Numerous members of the morning glory family inhabit the Hawaiian Islands and are used as food and medicine there, including I. indica, I. caririca, and I. pes-caprae. Years ago, I brought several wild varieties and cultivars into my garden, a nuisance that spreads vigorously everywhere. Toxins/Drugs: Seeds contain indole alkaloids, LSA, and ergoline alkaloids: ergonovine and ergine that are psychedelic with an effect similar to LSD—but requires a large dose of seeds. Seeds found in garden centers are often coated with methylmercury, pesticides, and fungicides. These toxic substances cause neural destruction and liver damage. Never imbibe commercially purchased seeds.
Symptoms: With a sufficient dose victim may experience nausea, cramps, possibly vomiting, next-day diarrhea, hallucinations, flushing, reduced blood pressure, occasional anxiety, and eventually drowsiness.
Note: Various species have purgative activity, roots used as a laxative to relieve constipation including Ipomoea purga syn. I. jalapa. A few species are hemostatic. Others claimed as aphrodisiacs and hallucinogens (seeds used).