Goats Foot

~ Ipomoea pes-caprae ~

CONVOLVULACEAE

These salt-tolerant plants have sea-loving seeds that float across the oceans of the world. This special way of seed dispersal contributes to Goats Foot being so widely spread throughout the tropical regions of both hemispheres (aka pantropical). It settles on beaches, spreads its viny legs and holds the dunes in place. Similar to Pink Pigface (see p. 25), this is an important species for eradicating dune erosion.

WHERE TO LOOK

Widely distributed throughout the coastal sand dunes of the north-west and east coast of Australia, it’s found in the company of Banksias, Pink Pigfaces and many grasses including Spinifex.

Locations → Queensland: Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island and K’gari (Fraser Island); NSW: Emerald Beach; WA: North West Cape; NT: Dundee Beach.

FEATURES

This long, creeping vine splays out along the sand with stems up to 5m in length. The leaves are bright green and hoof shaped with pink trumpet-shaped flowers. Each round fruit, coloured green to brown, contains four hairy seeds, which get distributed by water and can endure long salt-water journeys (aka drift seeds).

FLOWERING SEASON

Year-round → You can find these flowers in bloom all year; however, the flowers generally only last a day or so.

TRADITIONAL USES

The leaves are crushed and heated on hot rocks and applied as a poultice to relieve stings and bites from insects, stingrays and snakes, as well as a cure for skin irritations, boils, skin infections, ringworm and haemorrhoids.

PLANTING

This sandy number may not be able to be cultivated in your garden unless you have very sandy soils. But then, nothing is impossible.