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Species
Ipomoea aquatica Forsk.
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Herbs annual, terrestrial and repent or floating; axial parts glabrous. Stems terete, thick, hollow, rooting at nodes. Petiole 3-14 cm, glabrous; leaf blade variable, ovate, ovate-lanceolate, oblong, or lanceolate, 3.5-17 X 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 1-3(-5)-flowered; peduncle 1.5-9 cm, base pubescent; bracts squamiform, 1.5-2 mm. Pedicel 1.5-5 cm. Sepals subequal, glabrous; outer 2 ovate-oblong, 7-8 mm, margin whitish, thin, apex obtuse, mucronulate; inner 3 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. Capsule ovoid to globose, ca. 1 cm in diam., woody, tardily dehiscent or ?indehiscent. Seeds densely grayish pubescent, sometimes glabrous. 2n = 30*.
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Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200018842 |
Major Threats
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Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/168908 |
"Creeping or floating aquatic herbs, stems hollow, rooting at the nodes. Leaves alternate, varies in form, usually oblong-lanceate or narrowly triangular, 5-10 by 2-6 cm, base hastate, apex acute; petiole 6-10 cm long. Flowers purplish-white, solitary or few in cymes. Sepals subequal, 6-8 mm long, oblong-lanceolate, membranous, glabrous. Corolla funnel-form, c. 5 cm long, pale purple to nearly white, tube to 2 cm long, lobes obscure. Stamens included, filaments unequal, hairy at the base.Ovary glabrous. Capsule globose; seeds 4 or 2, minutely pubescent."
Conservation Actions
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/168908 |
Habit: Herb
Root: Decoction used to remedy haemorrhoids. Leaf: Crushed leaves are applied to hardened pimples.
Convolvulus repens Vahl; Ipomoea repens Roth; I. reptans Poiret; I. subdentata Miquel.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200018842 |
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.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200018842 |
Habitat and Ecology
The species can be a serious weed where it forms dense floating mats of intertwined stems over water surfaces, shading out native submersed plants and competing with native emergent plants. It is considered the second greatest problem plant in the Philippines, where it tends to overgrow freshwater marginal areas.
Systems
- Freshwater
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/168908 |