Flora of North America species comparison

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Ipomoea alba

Ipomoea ternifolia

moon flower, tropical white morning-glory

tripleleaf morning-glory
Habit Perennials.
Stems

twining, usually prickly, sometimes rooting at nodes.

Leaf

blades broadly ovate to triangular or 3–5-lobed, 50–150 × 50–150 mm, base cordate, surfaces usually glabrous, rarely hairy.

Peduncles

glabrous.

Flowers

nocturnal;

sepals ovate, 7–15 mm, ± coriaceous, apex acute, outers each with midrib extending as ± corniform appendage;

corolla white, throat green-banded inside, salverform, 70–150 mm.

Fruits

20–30 mm.

2n

= 30.

Ipomoea alba

Ipomoea ternifolia
Phenology Flowering Sep–May.
Habitat Forest margins, swamps, moist sites.
Elevation 0–100 m. (0–300 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; LA; SC; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Asia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
Mexico; Central America; Arizona
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (1 in the flora).

Varieties ternifolia and valida (House) J. A. McDonald are known from Mexico and Central America.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Convolvulaceae > Ipomoea Convolvulaceae > Ipomoea
Sibling taxa
I. amnicola, I. aquatica, I. asarifolia, I. barbatisepala, I. batatas, I. cairica, I. capillacea, I. cardiophylla, I. carnea, I. coccinea, I. cordatotriloba, I. costellata, I. cristulata, I. dumetorum, I. hederacea, I. hederifolia, I. imperati, I. indica, I. lacunosa, I. leptophylla, I. lindheimeri, I. longifolia, I. macrorhiza, I. microdactyla, I. muricata, I. nil, I. pandurata, I. pes-caprae, I. plummerae, I. pubescens, I. purpurea, I. quamoclit, I. rupicola, I. sagittata, I. setosa, I. shumardiana, I. sloteri, I. tenuiloba, I. tenuissima, I. ternifolia, I. thurberi, I. tricolor, I. triloba, I. violacea, I. wrightii, I. ×leucantha
I. alba, I. amnicola, I. aquatica, I. asarifolia, I. barbatisepala, I. batatas, I. cairica, I. capillacea, I. cardiophylla, I. carnea, I. coccinea, I. cordatotriloba, I. costellata, I. cristulata, I. dumetorum, I. hederacea, I. hederifolia, I. imperati, I. indica, I. lacunosa, I. leptophylla, I. lindheimeri, I. longifolia, I. macrorhiza, I. microdactyla, I. muricata, I. nil, I. pandurata, I. pes-caprae, I. plummerae, I. pubescens, I. purpurea, I. quamoclit, I. rupicola, I. sagittata, I. setosa, I. shumardiana, I. sloteri, I. tenuiloba, I. tenuissima, I. thurberi, I. tricolor, I. triloba, I. violacea, I. wrightii, I. ×leucantha
Subordinate taxa
I. ternifolia var. villosa
Synonyms Calonyction aculeatum, Convolvulus aculeatus
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 161. (1753) Cavanilles: Icon. 5: 52, plate 478, fig. 1. (1799)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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