Ipomoea pes-caprae

Ipomoea pes-caprae, Railroad Vine or Railway Creeper can cover 100 ft (30.5 m) as it races along the beach, but it never gets more than a few inches high. This is an evergreen perennial with a large, thick root that can be 10 ft (3.1 m) long and 2 in (5.1 cm) in diameter. The stem is flexible, 0.5 in (1.3 cm) in diameter, branches freely and roots at the nodes. The fleshy leathery leaves are about 4 in (10.2 cm) long and carried on petioles 6 in (15.2 m) long. The leaves are notched at the apex, creating two equal lobes which must have looked like the imprint of a goat’s foot to Professor Linnaeus who named the plant. The flowers are very showy, pink to lavender purple funnels about 2 in (5.1 m) long. Each flower opens only once, in the morning, but they keep coming almost all year long, peaking from May through November