All About Morning Glories
By Kathleen Karlsen, MA and Ning Yeh, Ph.D.

Morning Glory Facts
The morning glory is aptly named, as the flower blooms in the morning and dies by the afternoon. The flowers are funnel-shaped and prefer full sun. Morning glories will grow in poor, dry soil. They are a vine flower and are highly useful for trellises where they reduce the heating and cooling costs of buildings.

Ancient and Modern Uses of Morning Glories
Morning glories are known in China for their medicinal properties. The seeds are said to have a laxative effect. Large amounts of the seeds can also be hallucinogenic.

The water morning glory, also known as water spinach or swamp cabbage, can be eaten like lettuce. Although it is categorized as a Federal Noxious Weed, the state of Texas allows water spinach to be grown for personal consumption.

In ancient mesopotamia, morning glory juice was used in combination with substance from the Castilla elastica tree to make a bouncing rubber ball over 3,000 years ago.

The Morning Glory in Chinese Art
The star-shaped morning glory, is symbolic of a single day each year in which the Chinese lovers, Chien Niu and Chih Neu, are allowed to meet. According to Chinese lore, Chien Niu was a boy start who was intrusted to take care of water buffalo in the heavenly kingdom. A girl star named Chih Neu was put in charge of seamstress duties. They fell in love, and the romance caused them to neglect their duties. In anger, God forced the young lovers to be separated on both sides of the Silver River and allowed then to meet only once during the whole year.

For more information on flower symbolism:
Illustrated Flower Symbolism Guide
The Symbolic Meaning of Flowers
Garden Flower Symbolism and Flower Facts
Flower Symbolism and Mary Gardens 

©2008 Living Arts Enterprises LLC

Reference:
Yeh, Ning. An Album of Chinese Brush Painting: Eighty Paintings and Ideas. Huntington Beach, CA: Ning Yeh's Art Studio, 1986.

For Chinese brush painting supplies, please visit:
http://www.orientalartsupply.com/?afid=203

©2008 Living Arts Enterprises LLC

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