western versus eastern

i am quite certain these delicate little tissue paper blooms are west coast morning glories–the way the blooms are a single petal with delicate creases and the way the unopened blooms are curled upon themselves like an umbrella convince me they are morning glories. but the leaves are not the telltale heart shaped leaves of our northern midwestern morning glories. i pinched this little specimen from the garden of our rented airbnb in stinson beach, california last week.  i just assumed i would be able to google western morning glories, or or even coastal morning glories, and get confirmation of my assumption. but i had no such luck. california is often described as having a mediterranean climate and flora. i know mediterranean plants pretty well, but here in america, what i really know are the eastern species. there is a whole half a continent that is slightly more foreign to me than the scrubland of southern france and coastal spain and italy. all right, western american flora and fauna. i’m on your tail. you will not escape me for long.

morning glories, stinson beach, california