Ipomoea aquatica

Nomenclature

Accepted name/Authority/Place of publication: 

Ipomoea aquatica Forsskål, Fl. Aegypt.-Arab. 44. 1775.

Synonyms: 

Convolvulus repens Vahl

Ipomoea repens Roth

I. reptans Poir.

I. subdentata Miq.

Description

Habit: 
Herbs annual, terrestrial and repent or floating; axial parts glabrous. Stems terete, thick, hollow, rooting at nodes.
Leaves: 
Petiole 3–14 cm, glabrous; leaf blade variable, ovate, ovate-lanceolate, oblong, or lanceolate, 3.5–17 × 0.9–8.5 cm, glabrous or rarely pilose, base cordate, sagittate or hastate, occasionally truncate, margin entire or undulate, apex acute or acuminate.
Inflorescences: 
Inflorescences 1–3(–5)-flowered; peduncle 1.5–9 cm, base pubescent; bracts squamiform, 1.5–2 mm. Pedicel 1.5–5 cm.
Flowers: 
Sepals nearly equal, glabrous; outer 2 sepals ovate-oblong, 7–8 mm, margin whitish, thin, apex obtuse, mucronulate; inner sepals ovate-elliptic, ca. 8 mm. Corolla white, pink, or lilac, with a darker center, funnelform, 3.5–5 cm, glabrous. Stamens unequal, included. Pistil included; ovary conical, glabrous; stigma 2-lobed.
Fruits: 
Capsule ovoid to globose, ca. 1 cm in diam., woody, tardily dehiscent or (?)indehiscent.
Seeds: 
Seeds densely grayish pubescent (sometimes 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

Collector(s): 
30
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 and cultivated throughout tropical Asia: Australia, China, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Guinea, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; introduced, cultivated, and often naturalized in Africa, Australia, Pacific Islands, South America. 

Ecology: 

China: In marshy habitats:
ditches, ponds, rice paddies, waste areas. 

Thailand: Floating
in still waters or creeping on wet soil, in sunny rice fields, muddy drinking
places, swamps; altitude: sea level to 400 m. 

Phenology: 

Flowering: February, October–December; fruiting: February, October–December.

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. 

Other information

Common names and uses: 
weng cai (Chinese). Phak bung, kam-chon, phak thot yot, no-do (Thai).
General comments: 

Commonly cultivated as a pot herb, Ipomoea aquatica is adapted to a warm, moist climate and cannot survive frost. Several races are recognized (without formal taxonomic designation) based on growing conditions (terrestrial vs. aquatic) and plant and flower color (greenish plants with white flowers vs. purplish tinged plants with lilac flowers). The plants have minor medicinal uses and also are used for forage.

Infraspecific Characters: 

There are 2 distinct morphotypes known, though neither has been recognized taxonomically. One has purplish stems, darker green leaves suffused with red, and purplish corollas; it is distinguished by vernacular names throughout Asia, such as phak bung thai (Thai). The other morphotype has greenish stems, brighter green leaves, and pure white corollas, with either white or yellow central ‘eye’; it is referred to, among other names, as phak bung jiin (Thai). 

Authorship for webpage

Editor: 
George Staples, Esmond Er
Contributors: 
Classification: 
Ipomoea aquatica
Wed, 2011-09-21 07:23 -- Esmond
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