Convolvulaceae
Operculina

Operculina turpethum (L.) Silva Manso

First published in Enum. Subst. Braz.: 16 (1836)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Somalia to S. Tropical Africa, W. Indian Ocean, Tropical & Subtropical Asia to Pacific. It is a climbing tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Convolvulaceae, Maria Leonor Gonçalves. Flora Zambesiaca 8:1. 1987

Morphology General Habit
Perennial twiner with long much branched roots.
Morphology Stem
Stems slender, narrowly 3–5 winged, angular or grooved, glabrous or shortly pilose, often rooting in water; young parts sometimes more or less tomentose.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf lamina very variable in shape, circular to lanceolate, 4–10 × 1–9 cm., acuminate to obtuse at the apex, mucronulate, cordate, glabrous to velvety; petiole up to 5 cm. long, terete or sometimes winged.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences cymosely 1-few flowered; peducle 2–10 cm. long terete or sometimes winged like the stems, glabrous or pubescent, pedicels up to 3 cm. long, enlarging in fruit and becoming clavate, bracts large, oblong or elliptic 1·5–2·5 × 0–5·1 cm., caducous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals ovate or broadly ovate, acute or acuminate, outer ones up to 2·5 × 1 cm., pubescent, inner ones about 2 cm. long, glabrescent, all accrescent in fruit, the calyx becoming broadly cupshaped, up to 6 cm. in diam.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white, pinkish or yellowish, broadly funnel-shaped, 3–4·5 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule depressed-globose about 1·5 cm. in diam., with circumscissile epicarp, the upper part of which comes off as an operculum or lid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds 4 or fewer, black, glabrous.
[FZ]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Convolvulaceae, B. Verdcourt (East African Herbarium). Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1963

Morphology General Habit
Perennial twiner; stems narrowly 3–5-winged, angular or grooved, glabrous or shortly pilose, often rooting in water; young parts sometimes tomentose.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blade very variable, orbicular to lanceolate, 5.5–15 cm. long, 1–14 cm. wide, acuminate to obtuse at the apex, mucronulate, cordate, hastate or truncate at the base, entire or rarely lobed or dentate, glabrous to velvety; petiole 2.5–7.5 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescences 1–few-flowered; peduncle 2–18 cm. long; pedicels 1.2–3.5 cm. long, enlarging to 4 cm. in fruit and becoming clavate; bracts large, oblong or elliptic, 1.5–2 cm. long, 0.6–1 cm. wide, caducous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals ovate, acute or acuminate; outer 1.5–2.5 cm. long, 1 cm. wide, pubescent; inner about 2 cm. long, glabrescent; calyx accrescent in fruit, up to 6 cm. in diameter (lobes 3 × 2.5 cm.).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white, pinkish or yellowish, broadly funnel-shaped, 3–4.5 cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Capsule 1.5 cm. in diameter.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Seeds black, glabrous, 6 mm. in diameter.
Figures
Fig. 15, p. 62.
Habitat
Thickets, waste places, plantations, swamps; 0–1300 m.
Distribution
K7 T3 T6 T8 Z southern Asia to Australia, and Polynesiaintroduced into the West Indies
[FTEA]

Common Names

unknown
Indian jalap, powdered teoree, shivadai (Tam), tegada (Tel), turbith, turpeth, white turpeth

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • EBC Common Names

    • Common Names from Kew's Economic Botany Collection https://www.kew.org/science/collections-and-resources/collections/economic-botany-collection

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images