| Author | Poiret | |
| Distribution | Present throughout coastal areas, though seemingly not present around Albemarle Sound.
This is a Southern coastal species, ranging north just to northeastern NC, and then south to the Gulf Coast from FL to TX.
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| Abundance | Common, widespread, and usually easily found, from Dare County southward, though scarce in Currituck County. | |
| Habitat | This species is strictly tied to tidal waters in NC, being found within sight or sound or the ocean, sounds, or bays. It favors the edges of tidal marshes, margins of maritime forests and shrub stands, rarely in hammocks. | |
| Phenology | Blooms from July to September, and fruits shortly after flowering. | |
| Identification | This is a quite familiar morning-glory to anyone spending much time along the coast. It is an herbaceous vine, growing to about 10 feet long, trailing or twining. The scattered alternate leaves are quite different from most other native morning-glories, being sagittate or arrowhead-shaped, about 4 inches long, with a long and narrow tip but with long and sharply pointed basal lobes (each one about 1-inch long). Though there is some variability in the shape of these leaves, the very narrow and swept back side lobes are quite obvious. The axillary flowers are large, funnel-shaped, and about 3 inches long and across, each being medium pink to rose-pink, with a somewhat darker center. I. cordatotriloba also has pink to purplish flowers, but these are much smaller in size, and the 3-lobed leaves do not have the side lobes swept back in sharp wedges. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | None
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| Other Common Name(s) | None | |
| State Rank | S4 | |
| Global Rank | G5? | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | FACW link |
| USACE-emp | FACW link |
