Flora of North America species comparison

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Ipomoea cairica

Convolvulaceae

cairo morning glory, mile-a-minute vine

morning-glory family
Habit Perennials. Annuals, perennials, subshrubs, shrubs, vines, or lianas [trees], some with milky sap; Cuscuta parasitic, achlorophyllous.
Stems

usually twining, sometimes trailing.

decumbent, erect, procumbent, repent, trailing, or twining-climbing.
Leaves

blades orbiculate to ovate, 30–100 × 30–100 mm overall, palmatisect, lobes 5 (proximal 2 sometimes 2-lobed), lance-elliptic, lanceolate, or lance-ovate, (5–)10–25(–70) × (3–)8–15(–30) mm, apex acute to obtuse, surfaces glabrous.

alternate, usually simple, sometimes compound;

stipules absent;

petiole present or absent;

blade margins entire, toothed, or lobed.
Inflorescences

axillary, ± cymose or flowers solitary; bracteate or not; bracteolate or not.
Peduncles

glabrous;

pedicels straight, 10–25 mm.

Flowers

sepals oblong to ovate, 4–6.5(–9) mm, outers slightly shorter than inners, chartaceous, margins scarious, apex obtuse to acute;

corolla lavender-blue or white, throat purplish-red, funnelform, 45–60 mm.

bisexual [unisexual], actinomorphic or weakly zygomorphic;

calyx persistent, sepals 5, distinct or proximally connate, equal or unequal;

corolla blue, cream, green, lavender, maroon, pink, purple, rose, violet, white, or yellow, campanulate, funnelform, rotate, salverform, tubular, or urceolate, limb (3–)5-lobed or -toothed or entire, induplicate, sometimes also convolute, in bud;

nectary annular or cup-shaped, sometimes 5-lobed or absent;

stamens (3–)5, distinct, filaments inserted on corolla tube, anthers 2-celled, linear or oblong, dehiscent by slits;

ovary superior, 1–4(–6)-locular, placentation basal or basal-axile, ovules 1–6 per locule, anatropous, bitegmic, crassi- or tenuinucellate;

styles 1 or 2;

stigmas 1 or 2, capitate, globose, peltate, or 2(–4)-lobed.
Fruits

usually capsular, sometimes berrylike (nutlike), dehiscent or indehiscent.
Seeds

1–4(–6), black, brown, green, or yellow, ellipsoid, globose, obcompressed, or pyramidal, glabrous or hairy;

endosperm absent or scant, cartilaginous;

embryo straight, cotyledons usually folded, rarely absent.
2n

= 30.

Ipomoea cairica

Convolvulaceae
Phenology Flowering Mar–Oct.
Habitat Abandoned plantings, dis­turbed sites.
Elevation -20–200 m. (-100–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; CA; FL; LA; Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico (Oaxaca), West Indies, South America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
nearly worldwide
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Genera 56, species 1600–1700 (18 genera, 167 species in the flora).

A traditional circumscription of Convolvulaceae, including Cuscuta and Dichondra, is followed here. Cuscuta is sometimes treated as a distinct family, Cuscutaceae Dumortier, and, less commonly, Dichondra has been treated in a distinct family, Dichondraceae Dumortier (A. Cronquist 1981; A. B. Rendle 1959).

In addition to hundreds of horticultural cultivars, economically important members of Convolvulaceae include Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato) and species of Calystegia that are agricultural weeds. Some species of Convolvulaceae are sources of hallucinogens and medicines, especially purgatives.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Plants parasitic (lacking chlorophyll).
Cuscuta
1. Plants not parasitic (autotrophic).
→ 2
2. Stems usually ascending, creeping, decumbent, erect, procumbent, prostrate, or trailing, seldom twining-climbing; leaves: larger blades 10–30(–100) mm; styles usually 2 (1 in Convolvulus).
→ 3
3. Stigmas or stigma lobes cylindric, linear, filiform, subclavate, subulate, or spatulate.
→ 4
4. Leaves sessile or subsessile; styles 2, stigma lobes 4, filiform to subclavate.
Evolvulus
4. Leaves usually petiolate, rarely sessile; styles 1, stigma lobes 2, cylindric, linear, or spatulate.
Convolvulus (in part)
3. Stigmas capitate, globose, or peltate.
→ 5
5. Styles: insertion ± basal; fruits subglobose to ± compressed, ± incised and 2-lobed, indehiscent or shattering irregularly.
Dichondra
5. Styles: insertion not ± basal; fruits conic, fusiform, globose, oblong-ovoid, or ovoid, dehiscence valvate.
→ 6
6. Leaf blades 1–14 mm.
→ 7
7. Stems decumbent to erect, seldom, if ever, mat-forming; corollas salverform, white, 5–7 mm.
Cressa
7. Stems decumbent, erect, prostrate, or trailing, sometimes mat-forming; corollas ± campanulate, greenish yellow to yellow, 3–4 mm.
Petrogenia
6. Leaf blades (1–)10–60(–100).
→ 8
8. Sepals 9–28 mm; corollas blue, blue-purple, or white with blue limb, 35–85 mm.
Bonamia
8. Sepals 4–11 mm; corollas usually white, sometimes lavender, maroon, pink, purple, or red, 8–25 mm.
Stylisma
2. Stems usually twining-climbing, sometimes repent or trailing, rarely almost absent, ascending, decumbent, erect, or procumbent; leaves: larger blades (10–)40–270 mm; styles 1.
→ 9
9. Fruits indehiscent.
→ 10
10. Sepals lanceolate-linear, 1–2 mm; corollas white, to 8 mm.
Poranopsis
10. Sepals elliptic, oblong, or ovate to orbiculate, 7–20 mm; corollas lavender, purple, purplish red, red, white, or yellow, 25–95 mm.
→ 11
11. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces black-glandular-punctate; fruits dry, 25–30 mm.
Stictocardia
11. Leaf blade abaxial surfaces glabrous, glabrate, or white-hairy; fruits fleshy or dry, 10–15 mm.
→ 12
12. Leaf blades 180–270 mm; sepals ovate, 15–20 mm; corollas lavender, 60–65 mm; fruits berrylike, fleshy.
Argyreia
12. Leaf blades 40–100 mm; sepals oblong, 7–12 mm; corollas proximally purplish, distally ± white with greenish bands, 25–40 mm; fruits capsular or nutlike, dry.
Turbina
9. Fruits dehiscent.
→ 13
13. Stigmas or stigma lobes cylindric, elliptic, linear, oblong, reniform, spatulate, or subulate.
→ 14
14. Stems hairy, hairs usually branched, glandular, and/or stellate, sometimes simple.
Jacquemontia
14. Stems glabrous or hairy, hairs not branched, glandular, or stellate.
→ 15
15. Sepals (5–)8–15(–25) mm; ovary 1-locular; stigma lobes linear to oblong, apices blunt.
Calystegia
15. Sepals 3–12 mm; ovary 2-locular; stigma lobes cylindric to spatulate, apices acute.
Convolvulus (in part)
13. Stigmas or stigma lobes capitate or globose.
→ 16
16. Fruit dehiscence circumscissile.
Operculina
16. Fruit dehiscence irregular or valvate.
→ 17
17. Anthers twisted after dehiscence; pollen usually 3–9-colpate, rarely aggrecolpate, not echinate.
Merremia
17. Anthers straight after dehiscence; pollen rugate and not echinate (Aniseia) or pantoporate and echinate (Ipomoea).
→ 18
18. Sepals notably accrescent in fruit, outer 3 notably longer than inner 2; corolla white, campanulate, 25–30 mm.
Aniseia
18. Sepals seldom notably accrescent in fruit, outer 3 not notably longer than inner 2; corolla usually blue, lavender, pink, purple, red, violet, or white, sometimes orange, red and yel­low, or red-orange, usually funnelform, sometimes campanulate or salverform, (6–)20–80(–150+) mm.
Ipomoea
Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14. Author: Daniel F. Austin†.
Parent taxa Convolvulaceae > Ipomoea
Sibling taxa
I. alba, I. amnicola, I. aquatica, I. asarifolia, I. barbatisepala, I. batatas, 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
Subordinate taxa
Aniseia, Argyreia, Bonamia, Calystegia, Convolvulus, Cressa, Cuscuta, Dichondra, Evolvulus, Ipomoea, Jacquemontia, Merremia, Operculina, Petrogenia, Poranopsis, Stictocardia, Stylisma, Turbina
Synonyms Convolvulus cairicus
Name authority (Linnaeus) Sweet: Hort. Brit., 287. (1826) Jussieu
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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