Ipomoea alba

Nomenclature

Accepted name/Authority/Place of publication:

Ipomoea alba L., Sp. Pl. 1: 161. 1753.

Synonyms:

Calonyction aculeatum (L.) House, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club31: 590. 1904.

C. aculeatum var. lobatum (Hallier f.) C. Y. Wu

C. album (L.) House, Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 31: 591. 1904.

C. bona-nox (L.) Bojer

C. bona-nox var. lobata Hallier f.

C. speciosum Choisy, Mém. Soc. Phys. Genève 6: 441. 1834.

Convolvulus aculeatus L., Sp. Pl. 1: 155. 1753.

Ipomoea aculeata (L.) Kuntze

I. aculeata var. bona-nox (L.) Kuntze

I. bona-nox L. Sp. Pl. ed. 2, 228. 1762.

Description

Habit:

Herbs annual or perennial, twining, usually glabrous, rarely puberulent. Stems to 10 m, terete, smooth or with soft prickles, sap milky.

Leaves:

Petiole 5–20 cm; leaf blade ovate to ± circular in outline, 10–20 × 5–16 cm, base cordate, margin entire, angular to 3-lobed, apex acuminate, mucronulate.

Inflorescences:

Petiole 5–20 cm; leaf blade ovate to ± circular in outline, 10–20 × 5–16 cm, base cordate, margin entire, angular to 3-lobed, apex acuminate, mucronulate.

Flowers:

Flowers nocturnal, fragrant. Sepals elliptic to ovate, ± leathery, glabrous; outer 3 sepals 5–12 mm, apex with a stout spreading, 4–9 mm awn; inner 2 sepals 7–15 mm, mucronate. Corolla white, with greenish bands, salverform; tube 7–12 cm, ca. 5 mm in diam.; limb 7–12 cm in diam., shallowly 5-undulate. Stamens exserted; filaments inserted in apical 1/2 of corolla tube, glabrous; anthers sagittate basally. Pistil exserted; ovary narrowly conical, glabrous; stigma 2-lobed.

Fruits:

Capsule ovoid, 2.5–3 cm, apiculate.

Seeds:

Seeds white, brown, or black, ca. 10 × 7–8 mm, glabrous.

Author:

Fang R.C. & G. Staples

References:

Fang R.C., G. Staples, et al. 1995. Convolvulaceae in P. Raven & C.Y. Wu (eds.) Flora of China 16: 271–325.

Cytology

Chromosome number:

Author:

Fang R.C. & G. Staples

References:

Fang R.C., G. Staples, et al. 1995. Convolvulaceae in P. Raven & C.Y. Wu (eds.) Flora of China 16: 271–325.

Biogeography, Ecology and Natural History

Distribution Map:

Distribution:

Native in North and South America; cultivated and also naturalized in the tropics worldwide; China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Jiangsu, Jaingxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang), Indonesia, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand; Pacific Islands, Nepal, Vietnam

Ecology:

China: Wet
forests, along watercourses, disturbed areas.

Thailand:

Along
streams or in moist places in secondary forest, scrub jungle, evergreen forest,
mixed deciduous/evergreen forest, or cleared land; altitude: c. 120–800 m.

Phenology:

Flowering: February, March, November, December; fruiting: January

Author:

Fang R.C. & G. Staples

References:

Fang R.C., G. Staples, et al. 1995. Convolvulaceae in P. Raven & C.Y. Wu (eds.) Flora of China 16: 271–325.

Staples, G. 2010. Convolvulaceae. Fl. Thailand 10(3): 330–468.