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Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.)R.Br. ssp. brasiliensis (L.)Ooststr.
Railroad Vine
Bayhops
Lavender Goatfoot Morning-glory
Florida native
This member of the morning glory family is a frequent vine of beaches throughout much of Florida's coast. The range extends along the southeastern coast from Texas to South Carolina, plus Pennsylvania, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
The funnel-shaped corolla is lavender, darker in the center, with five ovate sepals unequal in size. The blooming season is mainly from May through November, with sporadic flowering at other times of the year. The alternate leaves are ovoid or kidney-shaped with a notch at the apex, smooth, entire, succulent and long-stalked. The fruit is a capsule with four large seeds. The glabrous vine is trailing, rooting at the nodes and branched.
This plant is an important dune protection and restoration species as it grows out onto the beach ahead of other plants typically in a straight line - prompting the common name railroad vine. The leaves catch blowing sand to start natural dune building and provide an anchor for other plants. This makes it a desirable plant in Florida and other coastal states.
Ipomoea pes-caprae is a member of the Convolvulaceae - Morning-glory family.
Other species of the Ipomoea genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Ipomoea alba - MOONFLOWER
Ipomoea cairica - MILE A MINUTE VINE
Ipomoea cordatotriloba - TIEVINE
Ipomoea hederacea - IVYLEAF MORNING-GLORY
Ipomoea hederifolia - SCARLETCREEPER
Ipomoea imperati - BEACH MORNING-GLORY
Ipomoea indica - OCEANBLUE MORNING-GLORY
Ipomoea lacunosa - WHITESTAR
Ipomoea pandurata - MAN-OF-THE-EARTH
Ipomoea quamoclit - CYPRESSVINE
Ipomoea sagittata - SALTMARSH MORNING-GLORY
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (Institute for Systemic Botany) profile for this species
iNaturalist profile for this species
USDA Plant Profile for this species
Date record last modified: Aug 08, 2025
