Ipomoea L.

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

Morphology General Habit

Annuals, biennials or perennials, herbaceous, suffruticose or sometimes woody plants.

Morphology Stem

Stems woody or herbaceous, usually twining or prostrate, sometimes erect.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves petioleate or rarely sessile exceedingly variable in shape and size, entire or lobed to deeply divided, simple or rarely compound; pseudo-stipules sometimes present.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers axillary, solitary or in few to many-flowered cymes, sometimes aggregated at the apices of shoots pseudo-capitate, or enclosed in an involucre or in cymes, rarely forming a terminal leafy panicle; peduncles short or long, rarely almost nil; pedicels usually distinct, rarely almost nil; bracts and bracteoles various, sometimes leafy, free or forming an involucre.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals 5, very variable in size and shape, often unequal, membranaceous to coriaceous, persistent, often more or less enlarged in fruit.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla usually regular, rarely faintly zygomorphic, usually funnel-shaped or the tube somewhat campanulate, sometimes hypocrateriform, usually not conspicuously lobed, variously coloured.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens 5, usually unequal, inserted near the base of the corolla tube, subincluded or sometimes exserted; filaments filiform or somewhat linear, often dilated and hairy or papillate at the base; anthers ovate to linear; pollen globose, spinose or spinulose.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk annular.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary 2-3-4, or rarely 5-locular, usually 4-ovuled, rarely with 6–10 ovules; style filiform, included to exserted; stigma 2-globular.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsule globose to avoid, 3–10-valved.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds usually 4 (rarely less by abortion or up to 10), glabrous, pubescent or clothed (sometimes only partly) with very long hairs.

George R. Proctor (2012). Flora of the Cayman Isands (Second Edition). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Morphology General Habit

Creeping or twining, sometimes erect herbs or shrubs, rarely trees; leaves entire, angled, lobed, or palmately or pinnately divided

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers often large, soon-withering, solitary or in stalked axillary clusters, rarely aggregated in terminal panicles

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals 5, equal or unequal, persistent and often enlarged in fruit; corolla bell- or funnel-shaped, the limb entire or 5-angled, usually plaited

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens included or sometimes exserted; pollen spiny

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary 2–4-celled; style simple; stigma capitate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsule 2–4-celled, 2–4-seeded; seeds glabrous or often pubescent.

Distribution

A genus of between 400 and 500 species, widely distributed in tropical and warm- temperate regions.

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

Morphology General Habit

Annual, biennial or perennial herbs or shrubs; stems woody or herbaceous, prostrate, twining or erect

Morphology General Indumentum

Indumentum in the African species never stellate

Morphology Leaves

Leaves exceedingly variable, entire or lobed, simple or rarely compound; pseudo-stipules sometimes present

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers axillary, solitary or in few- to many-flowered cymes, sometimes aggregated at the apices of shoots or enclosed in an involucre

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals very variable in size and shape, often unequal, foliaceous to coriaceous

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla regular, usually funnel-shaped, rarely trumpet-shaped, the limb sometimes salver-shaped, usually not conspicuously lobed, variously coloured

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pollen

Pollen spinose or spinulose (Fig. 22/8, p. 131)

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary 2-, 3-, 4- or rarely 5-locular, usually 4-ovuled, rarely 6–10–ovuled.; style filiform; stigma biglobular

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsule ovoid or globose, 3–10–valved

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds usually 4 (rarely 3 or up to 10), glabrous, pubescent or clothed (sometimes only partly) with very long hairs.

Wood JRL & Scotland RW. 2017. Notes on Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) from the Amazonian periphery. Kew Bulletin. 72:10. DOI 10.1007/S12225-017-9682-9

Ecology

Apparently growing in cloud forest near streams in the coastal sierra of Venezuela between 1500 and 1800 m approximately.

Conservation

Based on an area of occurrence of slightly more than 17,000 km this species might be classified as Vulnerable (VU) but based on an area of occupancy of 24,000 km2 it might be classified as Endangered (EN). Given the relative accessibility of the cloud forest in Andean Venezuela over more than 150 years and the paucity of records, the categorisation of Endangered (EN) would seem correct, particularly as several of the recorded sites linear centres of population. Some populations may lie within one or more of the protected areas established in Andean Venezuela but this requires confirmation.

Note

Map 4 shows the somewhat disjunct populations of Ipomoea retropilosa in Venezuela. Although there is variation in the density of the indumentum, no clear geographical patterning in this variation was observed. Plants nearly identical to Ipomoea retropilosa also grow very locally in Colombia but differ in the completely glabrous sepals. In the absence of any other discernible differences we treat this distinct population as a subspecies as follows:

Morphology General Habit

Annual or perennial herbs, subshrubs, shrubs, lianas or small trees, white latex sometimes present, habit various but most commonly twining or sprawling, frequently trailing, less often ascending or erect; rootstock varied but at least sometimes thickened and tuberous, unknown in many species; indumentum usually of simple eglandular hairs but occasionally branched, stellate or (very rarely) T-shaped in form

Morphology Leaves

Leaves alternate, without stipules, most commonly petiolate, ovate with a truncate, cordate or sagittate base, less commonly and principally in the erect species sessile or shortly petiolate, oblong, obovate or linear with a cuneate or attenuate base

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence of usually pedunculate, axillary cymes borne in the axils of the upper leaves, the cymes often compounded with secondary and tertiary peduncles, sometimes corymbose or racemose in form, occasionally aggregated into terminal panicles, very occasionally arising on small axillary branchlets; bracteoles present but often caducous and inconspicuous; calyx of 5 free sepals, these similar or not, the outer two often similar and differing from the inner two with the middle sepal somewhat intermediate in form, inner sepals commonly with scarious margins; corolla very varied in colour and form but usually conspicuous and often open for a short time (morning or night only), commonly pink, less commonly blue, red, cream or white, commonly funnel-shaped and gradually widened with a broad spreading unlobed (sometimes weakly lobed) limb, less commonly campanulate, or crateriform with a cylindrical tube, more rarely suburceolate with the limb reduced to five teeth; stamens 5 unequal, two usually distinctly longer than the other three, inserted near the base of the tube, usually included, sometimes equal, exserted; filaments usually hairy at base, glabrous above, anthers linear-oblong, pollen globose, echinulate; ovary bilocular (trilocular in a few species), style 1, stigma globose, sometimes clearly bi- or trilobed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit a capsule, usually glabrous, 1 – 6-seeded but mostly 4-seeded, the style persistent or not on the ripening capsule; seeds very varied in indumentum, glabrous, minutely puberulent or tomentellous or conspicuously pilose or lanate, the longer hairs often restricted to the angles of the seeds.

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

Morphology General Habit

Herbaceous twiner

Morphology Leaves

Leaves usually lobed

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers in axillary, peduncled, few- to several-flowered monochasial cymes, often secund

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals 5, subequal, with awn-like appendages

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla narrowly tubular at the base, tubular or urceolate above, slightly curved, with 5-toothed mouth

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens and style long-exserted; pollen spinulose

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary glabrous, 4-locular, each loculus with one ovule; style 1, filiform; stigma bicapitate

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsule 4-locular, 4-valved, with up to 4 glabrous seeds

Note

This monotypic genus has usually been considered a part of Ipomoea sect. Quamoclit, but the curved corolla and long-exserted genitalia are very distinctive.

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

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals 5, subequal, herbaceous, distinctly aristate, not enlarged in fruit.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla narrowly tubular at the base, tubular or urceolate above, slightly curved, with a slightly constricted 5-toothed mouth.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens

Stamens long-exserted; filaments inserted at the apex of the narrow basal tubular part of the corolla; pollen globular, spinulose.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Disc

Disk annular.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil

Ovary glabrous, 4-locular, each loculus with one ovule; style 1, long-exserted, filiform; stigma bicapitate.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsule 4-locular, 4-valved.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seeds 4 or less, glabrous.

Morphology General Habit

Herbaceous twiner.

Morphology Leaves

Leaves petioled, entire or mostly palmately lobed.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers in axillary, peduncled few to several-flowered monochasial cymes, often secund, pedicels short; bracts minute.

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

Morphology General Habit

A scarcely natural genus, similar to Ipomoea but differing in having an indehiscent ovoid-oblong or ellipsoid fruit, mostly with a single puberulous seed.

M. Thulin. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1–4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Distribution

Some 15 species in Africa, New Caledonia and tropical America.

Morphology General Habit

Shrubs or ± woody climbers

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers

Flowers in axillary cymes or solitary

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx

Sepals equal or unequal, scarious and ± spreading in fruit

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla funnel- or salver-shaped

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary

Ovary 2-celled with 4 ovules; style simple; stigmas 2, globose

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Fruit indehiscent, with a leathery or almost woody wall, usually 1-seeded, subtended by the enlarged calyx

Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds

Seed ovoid or ellipsoid.

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

Morphology General Habit

Similar in habit and most characters to Ipomoea but differing in having an indehiscent ovoid-oblong or ellipsoid fruit, mostly with a single puberulous seed.