Ipomoea

Scientific name

Ipomoea L.

Common names

water spinach, kangkong, swamp morning-glory

Family

Convolvulaceae

Similar genera

Anemopsis (rarely confused), Hydrocotyle

Native distribution

cosmopolitancosmopolitan:
(adj) essentially worldwide in distribution
; warm regions of world

Species cultivated

Ipomoea aquatica Forssk.

U.S. Federal Noxious Weed: Ipomoea aquatica

Identification: No single diagnostic feature distinguishes Ipomoea aquatica. Rather, a combination of features may help to distinguish it from other, particularly aquatic, species in the genus: With milky sap. Stems hollow, floating when in water, to 3 m long and can be much longer, rooted at nodes. Petioles 3-14 cm long. Leaf blades held erect above water when stems floating, variable in shape, usually narrowly triangular, sagittatesagittate:
(adj) shaped like an arrowhead
or hastatehastate:
(adj) (of a leaf) with a narrow, pointed lamina with two basal lobes spreading more or less at right angles to the petiole
, 4-17 cm long, apexapex:
(n) the point farthest from the point of attachment; the tip (often pointed)
pointed; leaf base truncatetruncate:
(adj) terminating abruptly, as if cut straight across
to broadly sagittatesagittate:
(adj) shaped like an arrowhead
or hastatehastate:
(adj) (of a leaf) with a narrow, pointed lamina with two basal lobes spreading more or less at right angles to the petiole
, basalbasal:
(adj) at or pertaining to the base, or point of attachment
lobes triangular, lobe apices acuteacute:
(adj) tapering to a sharp, pointed apex with more or less straight sides; broader than acuminate; forming an angle of less than 90 degrees
or obtuseobtuse:
(adj) with a blunt or rounded apex and sides coming together at an angle of more than 90 degrees
, tips acuminateacuminate:
(adj) tapering gradually to a point and forming more or less concave sides
. Pedicelspedicel:
(n) the stalk of a single flower in an inflorescence, or of a grass spikelet
and peduncles 2-7 cm long. Sepalsepal:
(n) a member of the outer envelope of a flower (calyx)
lobes subequal, +/- 6 mm long. Capsule diameter +/- 8-10 mm.

See Ipomoea aquatica disseminule fact sheet.

Adventive distribution

Europe, Americas

Weed status

Ipomoea aquatica is a serious weed in numerous crops in over 60 countries around the world and is an aquatic weed on the U.S. federal noxious weed list. Ipomoea fistulosa is also a serious weed in irrigation canals.

Habit

creeping stoloniferous plant with petiolatepetiolate:
(adj) relating to or in the form of a petiole; bearing petioles
leaves arising from widely separated nodes; emergentemergent:
(adj) (syn. emersed) with parts raised out of the water; extending up out of the water
or floating

Brief description

Perennial. Stem creeping, rooting at each node, thick and spongy when floating. Leaves widely spaced, al ternateternate:
(adj) in threes
; petiolepetiole:
(n) the stalk of a leaf
elongate; leaf bladeblade:
(n) (syn. lamina) the flat, expanded part of a leaf, frond, or petal (excluding, e.g., the petiole)
cordatecordate:
(adj) heart-shaped; in the form of two rounded lobes
or sagittatesagittate:
(adj) shaped like an arrowhead
to linear or tri angularangular:
(adj) having projecting longitudinal angles; undulate, but sharply angled rather than gently rounded
; marginmargin:
(n) edge; rim
entire. Inflorescenceinflorescence:
(n) the arrangement of flowers on the floral axis
axillary, of one to a few flowers in a cymecyme:
(n) a determinate, usually flat-topped or convex inflorescence in which the terminal flower blooms earliest
. Sepals 5, green; corollacorolla:
(n) the inner whorl(s) of the perianth; all the petals of a flower
tubulartubular:
(adj) (of a corolla, perianth, calyx tube or other structure) (1) tube-shaped; cylindrical: narrow and elongate with more or less straight sides; (2) having segments fused into a tube (of any shape)
, large, funnel-shaped, lobes 5, color variable, usually white to purple. Fruit a capsule. Dispersal by stem fragments and seeds.

Natural habitat

terrestrialterrestrial:
(adj) growing on land as opposed to living in water
or aquatic, floating or wet ground

Additional comments

In this genus consisting of nearly 500 species worldwide, only two species can be considered aquatic. Ipomoea is commonly cultivated for consumption.