Ipomoea triloba

Nomenclature

Accepted name/Authority/Place of publication:

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

Synonyms:

Batatas triloba (L.) Choisy

Convolvulus trilobus (L.) Desr.

Ipomoea blancoi Choisy

Description

Habit:

Herbs annual. Stems twining or prostrate, glabrous or nodes sparsely pubescent.

Leaves:

Petiole 2.5–6 cm, glabrous sometimes tuberculate; leaf blade broadly ovate to circular in outline, 2.5–7 × 2–6 cm, glabrous or sparsely pilose, base cordate, margin entire or coarsely dentate to deeply 3-lobed.

Inflorescences:

Inflorescences dense umbellate cymes, 1- or few to several flowered; peduncle 2.5–5.5 cm, glabrous, angular, verruculose distally; bracts lanceolate-oblong, minute. Pedicel 5–7 mm, ± angular, glabrous, verruculose.

Flowers:

Sepals slightly unequal, 5–8 mm, glabrous or sparsely pilose abaxially, margin fimbriate, apex obtuse or acute, mucronulate; outer sepals oblong, slightly shorter; inner sepals elliptic-oblong. Corolla pink or pale purple, funnelform, 1.5–2 cm, glabrous; limb obtusely 5-lobed. Stamens included. Pistil included; ovary pubescent; stigma 2-lobed.

Fruits:

Capsule ± globular, 5–6 mm, bristly pubescent, apiculate, 2-loculed, 4-valved.

Seeds:

Seeds dark brown, ca. 3.5 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 to the West Indies, now a circumtropical weed. In China (Anhui, Guangdong, S Shaanxi, Taiwan), Indonesia, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Malaysia, New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam; North America, Pacific Islands.

Ecology:

China: Roadsides
or fields; 0–800 m.

Thailand: Weedy
on waste ground, agricultural fields, along roadsides, disturbed areas, and
increasingly appearing in natural forest areas; altitude: 25–810 m.

Phenology:

Flowering: April, August–November; fruiting: April, October, November.

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.