Beach Creeper

This post was precipitated by the success of my researches to find the name of the big red bean which we used to find washed up along the tide line of East Africa's beaches: I'd collected many in my time without knowing what it was called - see earlier post here.

Another, similar mystery was the name of the creeper which is common along the back of the same beaches, just above the high-tide mark. Again, a few minutes' research on the internet found the answer: it's goat's foot creeper, Ipomoea pes-caprae, one of the morning glory family with dark pink flowers, which is found along the margins of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Named 'goat's foot' for the shape of its lobed, leathery leaves, it is incredibly hardy, being able to grow on dunes and in salty, sandy soils by putting down roots to a metre depth. It spreads by sending out runners just under the surface and by producing a fruiting capsule which floats - hence, like the red bean, its wide distribution.

I find a strange satisfaction in clearing up a little mystery like this, one which has been with me for decades.