Red Morning-glory

Ipomoea coccinea

Found in fields, roadsides, thickets, streambanks. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 71%

Light: Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Somewhat dry to moist

Ipomoea coccinea — flower photograph — (c) Alicia Ballard, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Life cycle: Annual
Leaves: Deciduous
Bloom: August to December

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Not yet recorded · Height · Spread

Recorded in 67 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Named place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Named place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

45CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Ipomoea

Agrius cingulataPink-Spotted Hawkmoth, Sweet Potatoe Caterpillar
Agrotis gladiariaSwordsman Dart, Clay-Backed Cut-Worm
Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
Autographa precationisCommon Looper Moth
Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
Elaphria chalcedoniaChalcedony Midget
Elophila obliteralisWaterlily Leafcutter Moth

Show all 45

Emmelina monodactylaMorning-Glory Plume Moth
Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
Euxoa messoriaReaper Dart, Darksided Cutworm, Dark-Sided Cutworm
Euzophera semifuneralisAmerican Plum Borer
Feltia herilisMaster's Dart
Feltia jaculiferaDingy Cutworm
Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
Hahncappsia mancalisCommon Hahncappsia
Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
Herpetogramma fluctuosalisGreater Sweetpotato Webworm
Herpetogramma thestealisZigzag Herpetogramma, Subtle-Feathered Grass Moth
Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
Lascoria ambigualisAmbiguous Moth, Ambiguous Litter Moth
Marimatha nigrofimbriaBlack-Bordered Lemon
Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
Ostrinia obumbratalisSmartweed Borer
Papilio troilusSpicebush Swallowtail
Proxenus mirandaMiranda Moth, Glistening Rustic
Schizura ipomaeaeMorning-Glory Prominent, Checkered-Fringe Prominent
Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
Spragueia damaSouthern Spragueia
Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
Cosmopterix astrapias
Cosmopterix clemensella
Cosmopterix gemmiferella
Hahncappsia neobliteralis

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

3Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Ipomoea

Melitoma grisella
Melitoma marginella
Melitoma taurea

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Ipomoea

Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Convolvulaceae
Hardiness: Zones 6a–10b
Soil pH: Acidic to alkaline
Flower color: Red

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “August to December” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Flower color · “Red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Hardiness · “Zones 6a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
primary_flower_color · “red” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

Red Morning Glory; Scarlet Creeper

Conservation status

Virginia rank	SNA
Global rank	GNR
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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