Are petunias and morning glories the same variety? How to tell them apart

Because morning glories and petunias share many similarities in name, color and flower shape, they are very easily confused in the flower market, so let's take a closer look below at how to tell them apart.

In fact, morning glories and petunias belong to different families and genera, and their growing environments are also different. First, the morning glory belongs to the family Convolvulaceae, genus Ipomoea; it is a vine, characterized by heart-shaped leaves and trumpet-shaped flowers. After blooming, the flowers are relatively large and rather thin and delicate, and the common colors are blue, purple or red. During growth it likes to twine around bamboo poles, railings and the like, and it can grow quite tall.

The petunia, on the other hand, belongs to the family Scrophulariaceae, genus Petunia; it is a herbaceous plant, very short in height, only about 30-60 cm, with leaves that are ovate or heart-shaped. After blooming, its flowers are smaller than those of the morning glory, and the flower shape is also slightly different; the flowers are a bit heavier and thicker, and there is some fine fuzz behind the flower. During growth it generally creeps along the ground, and its stems are relatively upright. The colors commonly seen in the flower market are also quite varied, including red, white, purple and so on.

In more detail, the morning glory usually blooms in summer, and generally opens in the morning and withers by noon, whereas the petunia has a longer flowering period, blooming from season to autumn, and it will not wither on the same day.

Next is the difference in growing environment. The morning glory likes a warm and humid environment; it is a flower with strong adaptability and is mostly seen in fields, roadsides and other places, and it is also used as a Chinese herbal medicine. The petunia, however, has higher requirements for soil and light conditions. Under suitable conditions, it takes at least 100 days from sowing to flowering. It is often used as an ornamental flower and is widely used in flower beds, flower borders, potted plants and so on.

In addition, many friends are deeply impressed by the flower "Xiyan" in Empresses in the Palace. In the drama, Xiyan refers to the morning glory, understood as "the face of dusk", but in fact the morning glory blooms in the morning and then begins to wither when the sun comes out; it does not bloom in the evening at all. The flower referred to in the drama should be the flowers of the gourd family, such as bottle gourd and calabash flowers, which are the ones that bloom only in the evening.