昼顔(ヒルガオ) false bindweed

　アサガオに似たこの花は、昼間に咲くことから、ヒルガオと今では呼ばれています。ところが、大昔には美しい花という意味で、容花(カオバナ)という名前で、万葉集に登場しています。
　遣唐使が、中国からアサガオを持ち帰ると、同じ顔をした昼間に咲くカオバナを、その対比として、ヒルガオと呼ぶようになったと言われています。
 

　ついでながら、アサガオの咲く時間についてもふれておきます。アサガオは夜になり暗くなってから約９時間後に開花します。つまり、朝に咲く花でなく、朝には咲いている花なのです。

　False bindweed in Japan is called "daytime face" and morning glory is called "morning face."
　This flower, called "daytime face" now,  but appeared in the Manyoshu long ago under the name "kaobana," which meant beautiful flower. The Manyoshu is the oldest collection of Japanese poetry, compiled during the Nara period.
　It is said that when Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty brought back morning glories ("morning face") from China, the "kaobana," or a similar flower that blooms during the day, came to be called "daytime face"  in contrast to "morning face."
 

　Also, let me mention the time when morning glories bloom. Morning glories bloom about nine hours after it gets dark at night. In other words, it is not a flower that blooms in the morning, but a flower that is in bloom in the morning.