Common Name: Five fingered morning glory, Rock rosemary.
Rock rosemary is a slender stemmed twinning herb and native of Central America, naturalized in India. The plant is commonly seen along fences and hedges in rural areas of Tamilnadu. The stem is round in cross-section the plant is mostly glabrous; some hairs are seen in patches. The leaves are arranged in an alternate manner. The plant has palmate leaf structure: with five leaflets in each. The central leaflet is the longest (leaf length 5 cm); the leaflets on either side of the central leaflet are of smaller size (leaf length 2.4 cm). The leaf margin is slightly dentate. The leaf base is cuneate and apex acuminate. The inflorescence is and axillary cyme, the pedicle measure around 1.2 cm in length. The flowers are cream in color and funnel shaped. The sepals are in equal glabrous and ovate in shape. The fruit is in the form of a globose capsule and they contain tri-gonous black colored seeds. Rock rosemary is an excellent ornamental plant for hedges and fences and requires very little maintenance.
