Ipomoea arborescens

Ipomoea arborescens, the tree morning glory, is a rapidly growing, semi-succulent flowering tree in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. It is a tropical plant found mostly in Mexico, where its Nahuatl name is Cazahuatl or Cazahuate, and it flowers in late autumn and winter. The tree can add two or three meters a year and reaches 3 to 15 m tall with a trunk up to 50 cm across, its stems producing a white latex. Its white or cream funnel-shaped flowers are major nectar sources for lesser long-nosed bats, hummingbirds and bees. It ranges from Sonora and Chihuahua south to Veracruz and Oaxaca, from 50 to 2200 m, in open thorn forests, oak savannas and dry deciduous forests, and sheds its leaves when the rains stop. It goes by many local names, including palo blanco, palo santo and ozote.