Flora in Botw/Totk that stems from real life: Part 1
Also known as Beach Morning Glory.
!Not to be confused with the Goat’s Foot (Ipomoea pes-caprae) which is known under Beach Morning Glory as well, and whose leaves have a goat foot shape instead of a round one!
They belong to the same family but not the same genus.
In real life
Sea bindweed —also known under shore bindweed, (seashore) false bindweed and many other names— is a plant from the bindweed/morning glory (Convolvulaceae) family. This plant grows or can be found in the coastal areas of temperate regions, most commonly in those of England, Wales, Ireland, the mediterranean coast and the coasts of Japan, where it is native and the most common species of plants along their shores (according to this site). Additionally to those regions they sometimes can be found on coasts of Australia, New Zealand and some others (you can have a look at an interactive map about their habitats here —it may take some time to load).
The plant has fleshy stems and thick, glossy, kidney-shaped leaves while their funnel-shaped blossoms have petals that can range in colour from white, light/pastel pinks to vibrant purple tones (as described here and here).
In Japan it is called Hamahirugao (ハマヒルガオ / はまひるがお / 浜昼顔), often also written Hama Hiru-gao, which translates to coastal daytime face (for details about the name and more you can look here).
As a little fun fact on the side, some species included in their plant family (Convolvulaceae) are for example sweet potato and water spinach in aspect of food, while others are used as ingredients in psychedelic drugs due to them containing ergoline alkaloids, if you wanna read more about it you can start from this Wikipedia article.
In Breath of the Wild (2017) and Tears of the Kingdom (2023)
In the games these (two kinds as shown in the banner) can be found on the south, south-eastern and partially on the eastern coasts/beaches of Hyrule. The big-leaved one prefers to inhabit the southern coasts, not bothered by a more stony underground, and is more common in comparison to the small-leaved kind, which is rarer to find and prefers the more eastern and sandy beaches as habitats. But their habitats do overlap in Lurelin Village and Cape Cresia/Soka Point.
In the following pictures I have mapped out their habitats, but keep in mind that these are the areas where they can be found in general —they don‘t cover the whole area, instead they are more so scattered across them.
