Ipomoea is the largest genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 in the flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

 family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Convolvulaceae

Convolvulaceae

Convolvulaceae, known commonly as the bindweed or morning glory family, are a group of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species of mostly herbaceous vines, but also trees, shrubs and herbs.- Description :...

, with over 500 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

. Most of these are called "morning glories

Morning glory

Morning glory is a common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics is in flux...

", but this can refer to related genera also. Those formerly separated in Calonyction (Greek καλός, kalos, good and νύκτα, nycta, night) are called "moonflower

Moonflower

- Plants :A common name for several night-blooming plants, some with white flowers, including:* Nightblooming cereus species, including Hylocereus.* Datura species, including D. inoxia...

s". The generic name is derived from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 words ιπς (ips) or ιπος (ipos), meaning "worm" or "bindweed," and όμοιος (homoios), meaning "resembling". It refers to their twining habit. The genus occurs throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and comprises annual

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...

 and perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 herbaceous plant

Herbaceous plant

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

s, liana

Liana

A liana is any of various long-stemmed, woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level and use trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy to get access to well-lit areas of the forest. Lianas are especially characteristic of tropical moist deciduous...

s, shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s and small tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

s; most of the species are twining climbing plants

Vine

A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...

.

Uses and ecology

Human use of Ipomoea is threefold: First, most species have spectacular, colorful flowers and are often grown as ornamental plant

Ornamental plant

Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...

s, and a number of cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

s have been developed. Their deep flowers attract large Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 - especially Sphingidae

Sphingidae

Sphingidae is a family of moths , commonly known as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms, that includes about 1,200 species . It is best represented in the tropics but there are species in every region . They are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid,...

 such as the Pink-spotted Hawkmoth (Agrius cingulata) - or even hummingbird

Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...

s.

Second, the genus includes food

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...

 crops; the tuber

Tuber

Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...

s of Sweet Potato

Sweet potato

The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...

 (I. batatas) and the leaves of Water Spinach (I. aquatica) are commercially important food items and have been for millennia. The Sweet Potato is one of the Polynesia

Polynesia

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...

n "canoe plants

Canoe plants

Canoe plants, or Polynesian introductions, are plants taken from ancient Polynesia and transplanted to other Pacific IslandsThe term is particularly used to refer to plants brought to Hawaii 1,700 years ago by Polynesian explorers....

", transplanted by settlers on islands throughout the Pacific. Water Spinach is used all over eastern Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and the warmer regions of the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

 as a key component of well-known dishes such as Canh chua rau muống

Canh chua

Canh chua is a sour soup indigenous to the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam. It is typically made with fish from the Mekong River Delta, pineapple, tomatoes , and bean sprouts, in a tamarind-flavored broth...

 (Mekong sour soup) or Callaloo

Callaloo

Callaloo is a popular Caribbean dish served in different variants in across the Caribbean. The main ingredient is a leaf vegetable, traditionally either amaranth , taro or Xanthosoma. Both are known by many names including callaloo, coco, tannia, bhaaji, or dasheen bush...

; its numerous local names attest to its popularity. Other species are used on a smaller scale, e.g. the Whitestar Potato (I. lacunosa

Ipomoea lacunosa

The whitestar potato, Ipomoea lacunosa, is a species that belongs to the Ipomoea genus. In this genus most members are commonly referred to as "morning glories". The name for the genus, Ipomoea, has root in the Greek words ips and homoios, which translates to worm-like. This is a reference to the...

) traditionally eaten by some Native American

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

s like the Chiricahua

Chiricahua

Chiricahua are a group of Apache Native Americans who live in the Southwest United States. At the time of European encounter, they were living in 15 million acres of territory in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona in the United States, and in northern Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico...

 Apaches, or the Australian Bush Potato (I. costata

Ipomoea costata

Ipomoea costata, commonly known as Rock Morning Glory, is an Australian native plant. It is found in northern Australia, from Western Australia, through the Northern Territory, to Queensland....

).

Peonidin

Peonidin

Peonidin is an O-methylated anthocyanidin, and a primary plant pigment. Peonidin gives purplish-red hues to flowers such as the peony, from which it takes its name, and roses. It is also present in some blue flowers, such as the morning glory....

, an anthocyanidin

Anthocyanidin

Anthocyanidins are common plant pigments. They are the sugar-free counterparts of anthocyanins based on the flavylium ion or 2-phenylchromenylium, which is a type of oxonium ion . They form a large group of polymethine dye. In particular anthocyanidins are salt derivatives of the...

 potentially useful as a food additive

Food additive

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance.Some additives have been used for centuries; for example, preserving food by pickling , salting, as with bacon, preserving sweets or using sulfur dioxide as in some wines...

, is present in significant quantities in the flowers of the "Heavenly Blue" cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

s.

Moon Vine (I. alba

Ipomoea alba

Ipomoea alba, sometimes called the moonflower or moon vine, is a species of night-blooming morning-glory, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, from northern Argentina north to Mexico and Florida...

) sap was used for vulcanization

Vulcanization

Vulcanization or vulcanisation is a chemical process for converting rubber or related polymers into more durable materials via the addition of sulfur or other equivalent "curatives." These additives modify the polymer by forming crosslinks between individual polymer chains. Vulcanized material is...

 of the latex

Latex

Latex is the stable dispersion of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latexes may be natural or synthetic.Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants . It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins,...

 of Castilla elastica

Castilla elastica

Castilla elastica, the Panama Rubber Tree, is a tree native to the tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, and northern South America. It was the principal source of latex among the Mesoamerican peoples in pre-Columbian times...

 (Panama rubber tree, Nahuatl

Nahuatl

Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua...

: olicuáhuitl) to rubber

Rubber

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...

; as it happens, the rubber tree seems well-suited for the vine to twine up upon, and the two species are often found together. As early as 1600 BCE, the Olmec

Olmec

The Olmec were the first major Pre-Columbian civilization in Mexico. They lived in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco....

s started to produce the balls used in the Mesoamerican ballgame

Mesoamerican ballgame

The Mesoamerican ballgame or Tlatchtli in Náhuatl was a sport with ritual associations played since 1,000 B.C. by the pre-Columbian peoples of Ancient Mexico and Central America...

.

The root called John the Conqueror

John the Conqueror

John the Conqueror, also known as High John the Conqueror, John de Conquer, and many other folk variants, is a folk hero from African-American folklore. He is associated with a certain root, the John the Conquer root, or John the Conqueroo, to which magical powers are ascribed in American folklore,...

 in hoodoo and used in lucky and/or sexual charm

Amulet

An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...

s (though apparently not as a component of love potions

Potion

A potion is a consumable medicine or poison.In mythology and literature, a potion is usually made by a magician, sorcerer, dragon, fairy or witch and has magical properties. It might be used to heal, bewitch or poison people...

) usually seems to be from I. jalapa. The testicle

Testicle

The testicle is the male gonad in animals. Like the ovaries to which they are homologous, testes are components of both the reproductive system and the endocrine system...

-like dried tubers are carried as an amulet

Amulet

An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...

 and rubbed by the user to gain good luck in gambling

Gambling

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...

 or flirting

Flirting

Flirting is a playful, romantic, or sexual overture by one person to another subtly indicating an interest in a deeper relationship with the other person, and can involve verbal communication as well as body language...

. As Willie Dixon

Willie Dixon

William James "Willie" Dixon was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. A Grammy Award winner who was proficient on both the Upright bass and the guitar, as well as his own singing voice, Dixon is arguably best known as one of the most prolific songwriters...

 wrote, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, in his song "Rub My Root" (a Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters

McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...

 version is titled "My John the Conquer Root"):

My pistol may snap, my mojo is frail

But I rub my root, my luck will never fail

When I rub my root, my John the Conquer root

Aww, you know there ain't nothin' she can do, Lord,

I rub my John the Conquer root

As medicine and entheogen

The third way humans use Ipomoea is due to these plants' content of medical and psychoactive compounds, mainly alkaloid

Alkaloid

Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...

s. Some species are renowned for their properties in folk medicine

Folk medicine

-Description:Refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation known to a limited segment of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture having prior experience.All cultures and societies...

 and herbalism

Herbalism

Herbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...

; for example Vera Cruz Jalap (I. jalapa) and Tampico Jalap (I. simulans) are used to produce jalap

Jalap

Jalap is a cathartic drug consisting of the tuberous roots of Ipomoea purga, a convolvulaceous plant growing on the eastern declivities of the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico at an elevation of 5000 to 8000 ft...

, a cathartic

Cathartic

In medicine, a cathartic is a substance that accelerates defecation. This is in contrast to a laxative, which is a substance which eases defecation, usually by softening feces. It is possible for a substance to be both a laxative and a cathartic...

 preparation accelerating the passage of stool

Human feces

Human feces , also known as a stool, is the waste product of the human digestive system including bacteria. It varies significantly in appearance, according to the state of the digestive system, diet and general health....

. Kiribadu Ala (Giant Potato, I. mauritiana) is one of the many ingredients of chyawanprash

Chyawanprash

Chyawanprash, also spelled chyavanaprasha, chyavanaprash, chyavanaprasam and chyawanaprash, is a jam-like mixture of spices and other ingredients from the Ayurvedic tradition. It is widely used in India due to claimed health benefits. The market size of chyawanprash in 2010 was Rs 4 billion...

, the ancient Ayurvedic tonic called "the elixir of life" for its wide-ranging properties.

Other species were and still are used as a potent entheogen

Entheogen

An entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...

. Seeds of Mexican Morning Glory (tlitliltzin, I. tricolor) were thus used by Aztec

Aztec

The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...

s and Zapotecs in shamanistic and priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

ly divination

Divination

Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...

 rituals, and at least by the former also as a poison, to give the victim a "horror trip" (see also Aztec entheogenic complex). Beach Moonflower (I. violacea) was also used thus, and the cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

s called Heavenly Blue Morning Glory, touted today for their psychoactive properties, seem to represent an indeterminable assembly of hybrids of these two species.

Responsible for the entheogenic activity are probably ergoline

Ergoline

Ergoline is a chemical compound whose structural skeleton is contained in a diverse range of alkaloids including a few psychedelic drugs . Ergoline derivatives are used clinically for the purpose of vasoconstriction and in the treatment of migraines and Parkinson's disease...

 derivatives (lysergamides

Lysergamides

Amides of lysergic acid are collectively known as lysergamides.Lysergamides, tabulated by structure...

). Ergine

Ergine

Ergine, also known as d-lysergic acid amide , d-lysergamide, and LA-111, is an alkaloid of the ergoline family that occurs in various species of vines of the Convolvulaceae and some species of fungi...

 (LSA), isoergine, D-lysergic acid N-(α-hydroxyethyl)amide and lysergol

Lysergol

Lysergol, is an alkaloid of the ergoline family that occurs as a minor constituent in some species of fungi , and in the morning glory family of plants , including the hallucinogenic seeds of Rivea corymbosa , Argyreia nervosa and Ipomoea violacea. Lysergol is not a controlled substance in the USA...

 have been isolated from I. tricolor, I. violacea and/or Purple Morning Glory (I. purpurea), but although these are often assumed to be the cause of the plants' effects, this is not supported by scientific studies which show that although psychoactive these compounds are not notably hallucinogenic. Alexander Shulgin

Alexander Shulgin

Alexander "Sasha" Theodore Shulgin is an American pharmacologist, chemist, artist, and drug developer.Shulgin is credited with the popularization of MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially for psychopharmaceutical use and the treatment of depression and...

 in TiHKAL

TiHKAL

TiHKAL: The Continuation is a 1997 book written by Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin about a family of psychoactive drugs known as tryptamines. A sequel to PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story, TiHKAL is an acronym that stands for Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved.-Content:TiHKAL, much like its...

 suggests that ergonovine

Ergonovine

Ergometrine , is an ergoline derivative, and one of the primary ergot and morning glory alkaloids...

 is responsible instead, having verified psychoactive properties, though it is not unlikely that yet other undiscovered lysergamides are present in the seeds.

Though most often noted as a drug, the lysergamides are also of medical importance. Ergonovine enhances the action of oxytocin

Oxytocin

Oxytocin is a mammalian hormone that acts primarily as a neuromodulator in the brain.Oxytocin is best known for its roles in sexual reproduction, in particular during and after childbirth...

, used to still postpartum bleeding. Ergine induces drowsiness and a relaxed state and might be useful in treating anxiety disorder

Anxiety disorder

Anxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal and pathological fear and anxiety. Conditions now considered anxiety disorders only came under the aegis of psychiatry at the end of the 19th century. Gelder, Mayou & Geddes explains that anxiety disorders are...

. Whether Ipomoea species are a useful source of these compounds remains to be determined. In any case, in some jurisdictions certain Ipomoea are regulated, e.g. by the Louisiana State Act 159

Louisiana State Act 159

Signed into law June 28, 2005 and effective August 8, 2005, Louisiana State Act No 159 found in, Louisiana RS 40:989.1, outlawed the cultivation, possession or sale of 40 known hallucinogenic plants in the state of Louisiana...

 which bans cultivation of I. violacea except for ornamental purposes.

Pests and diseases

Many herbivore

Herbivore

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...

s avoid morning glories like Ipomoea, as the high alkaloid content makes these plants unpalatable, if not toxic. Nonetheless, Ipomoea species are used as food plants by the caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s of certain Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...

 (butterflies and moths); see list of Lepidoptera which feed on Ipomoea. For a selection of diseases of the Sweet Potato

Sweet potato

The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...

 (I. batatas), many of which also infect other members of this genus, see List of sweet potato diseases.

Selected species

• Ipomoea abrupta
  Ipomoea abrupta
  Ipomoea abrupta is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae family of the genus Ipomoea. It is endemic to Western Australia.-References:*...
  
   R.Br.
• Ipomoea alba
  Ipomoea alba
  Ipomoea alba, sometimes called the moonflower or moon vine, is a species of night-blooming morning-glory, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, from northern Argentina north to Mexico and Florida...
  
   L. – Moon Vine
• Ipomoea alpina Rendle
• Ipomoea amnicola
  Ipomoea amnicola
  Ipomoea amnicola is a morning glory species. It is commonly called Red-center Morning Glory....
  
   Morong – Red-center Morning Glory
• Ipomoea aquatica
  Ipomoea aquatica
  Ipomoea aquatica is a semi-aquatic tropical plant grown as a leaf vegetable. It is known in English as Water Spinach, Water Morning Glory, Water Convolvulus, or by the more ambiguous names "Chinese spinach" and "swamp cabbage". It has many other names in other languages, such as "Phak bung" in Thai...
  
   Forssk.
  Peter Forsskål
  Peter Forsskål, sometimes spelled Pehr Forsskål, Peter Forskaol, Petrus Forskål or Pehr Forsskåhl, was a Swedish explorer, orientalist, naturalist and an apostle of Carl Linnaeus.-Early life:...
  
  – Water Spinach, Water Morning Glory, Water Convolvulus, On(g) Choy, wéngcài (China), "Chinese spinach", "swamp cabbage"
• Ipomoea aristolochiaefolia
  Ipomoea aristolochiaefolia
  Ipomoea aristolochiaefolia is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae family of the genus Ipomoea. It is endemic to parts of South America.-References:*...
  
  
• Ipomoea asarifolia
  Ipomoea asarifolia
  Ipomoea asarifolia is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae family, of the genus Ipomoea....
  
  
• Ipomoea barbatisepala A.Gray
• Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. – Sweet Potato
  Sweet potato
  The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
  
  , "tuberous morning glory"
• Ipomoea batatoides Benth.
• Ipomoea bona-nox
• Ipomoea cairica
  Ipomoea cairica
  Ipomoea cairica morning glory has many common names, including Mile-a-minute Vine, Messina Creeper, Cairo Morning Glory, Coast Morning Glory and Railroad Creeper. This vining perennial has palmate leaves and large, showy white to lavender flowers...
  
   – Coast Morning Glory, Cairo Morning Glory, Mile-a-minute Vine, Messina Creeper, Railroad Creeper
• Ipomoea calobra F.Muell.
• Ipomoea capillacea (Kunth) G.Don
• Ipomoea carnea
  Ipomoea carnea
  Ipomoea carnea, the Pink Morning Glory, is a species of morning glory. This flowering plant has heart-shaped leaves that are a rich green and 6–9 inches long. It can be easily grown from seeds which are toxic and it can be hazardous to cattle....
  
   – Pink Morning Glory, canudo-de-pita (Brazil
  Brazil
  Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
  
  )
• Ipomoea coccinea
  Ipomoea coccinea
  Ipomea coccinea is a flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae known by several common names including Red Morning Glory, Redstar and Mexican Morning Glory.It was first described by Linnaeus in 1753.- References :...
  
   – Red Morning Glory, Redstar, "Mexican Morning Glory"
• Ipomoea cordatotriloba
  Ipomoea cordatotriloba
  Ipomoea cordatotriloba, the Little Violet Morning Glory is a species of morning glory. It is native to the southeast United States.Ipomoea cordatotriloba var. torreyana, known as Purple Bindweed, is a perennial and native to Texas....
  
   L. – Little Violet Morning Glory
  • Ipomoea cordatotriloba var. torreyana – Purple Bindweed
• Ipomoea cordifolia Carey ex Voight – Heart-leaved Morning Glory
• Ipomoea costata
  Ipomoea costata
  Ipomoea costata, commonly known as Rock Morning Glory, is an Australian native plant. It is found in northern Australia, from Western Australia, through the Northern Territory, to Queensland....
  
   – Rock Morning Glory, Bush Potato
• Ipomoea costellata Torr. – Crest-ribbed Morning Glory
• Ipomoea cristulata Hallier f. – Trans-Pecos Morning Glory
• Ipomoea cynanchifolia (Meisn.
  Carl Meissner
  Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner was a Swiss botanist.Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 year career he was Professor of Botany at University of Basel...
  
  ) Mart.
• Ipomoea daturaefolia Meisn.
  Carl Meissner
  Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner was a Swiss botanist.Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 year career he was Professor of Botany at University of Basel...
  
  
• Ipomoea demerariana Choisy (= I. phyllomega)
• Ipomoea diversifolia R.Br.
• Ipomoea dumetorum Willd. ex Roemer & J.A.Schultes – Railwaycreeper
• Ipomoea eggersiana Peter
• Ipomoea eggersii (House) D.Austin – Egger's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea eriocarpa R.Br.
• Ipomoea ghika
• Ipomoea gracilis
  Ipomoea gracilis
  Ipomoea gracilis is a plant in the bindweed family Convolvulaceae....
  
   R.Br.
• Ipomoea graminea R.Br.
• Ipomoea halierca
• Ipomoea hederacea
  Ipomoea hederacea
  Ipomoea hederacea is a flowering plant in the bindweed family. The species is native to tropical parts of the Americas, and has more recently been introduced to North America. It now occurs there from Arizona to Florida and north to Ontario and North Dakota. Like most members of the family, it is...
  
   – Ivy-leaved Morning Glory
• Ipomoea hederifolia
  Ipomoea hederifolia
  Ipomoea hederifolia is a species of herbaceous annual vine native to the Americas. It was first described by Linnaeus in 1759.It is commonly known as Scarlet Morning Glory, Scarlet Creeper, Star Ipomoea, Trompillo or "Ivy-leaved Morning Glory" .Ipomoea × multifida is a hybrid between I...
  
   – Scarlet Morning Glory, Scarlet Creeper, Star Ipomoea, trompillo (= I. coccinea Sessé & Moc.)
• Ipomoea horrida Huber
• Ipomoea horsfalliae
  Ipomoea horsfalliae
  Ipomea horsfalliae is a flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae known by several common names including Lady Doorly's Morning Glory, Cardinal Creeper, and Prince Kuhio Vine. It is native to the Caribbean and Brazil.- References :...
  
   – Lady Doorly's Morning Glory, Cardinal Creeper, Prince Kuhio Vine
• Ipomoea imperati (Vahl) Griseb.
• Ipomoea incisa R.Br.
• Ipomoea indica
  Ipomoea indica
  Ipomoea indica is a species of morning glory known by several common names, including Blue morning glory, oceanblue morning glory, koali awa, and blue dawn flower.-Description:...
  
   – Oceanblue Morning Glory, Blue Morning Glory, Blue Dawn Flower, koali awa (Hawaii)
• Ipomoea jalapa (L.) Pursh.
• Ipomoea krugii Urban – Krug's White Morning Glory
• Ipomoea lacunosa
  Ipomoea lacunosa
  The whitestar potato, Ipomoea lacunosa, is a species that belongs to the Ipomoea genus. In this genus most members are commonly referred to as "morning glories". The name for the genus, Ipomoea, has root in the Greek words ips and homoios, which translates to worm-like. This is a reference to the...
  
   L. – Whitestar Potato, Whitestar
• Ipomoea leptophylla
  Ipomoea leptophylla
  Ipomoea leptophylla, the Bush Morning Glory or Bush Moonflower, is a flowering plant species in the bindweed family, Convolvulaceae....
  
   – Bush Morning Glory, Bush Moonflower, "manroot
  Manroot
  The manroots, wild cucumbers, or cucumber gourd are flowering plants in the gourd family , native to western North America. They are also commonly called Old man in the ground. The genus name comes from Hebrew מָרָ֔א The manroots, wild cucumbers, or cucumber gourd (genus Marah) are flowering...
  
  "
• Ipomoea leucantha Jacq. (non Webb ex Hook., Desv. ex Ham.)
• Ipomoea lindheimeri Gray – Lindheimer's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea littoralis Blume – White-flowered Beach Morning Glory
• Ipomoea lobata (Cerv.) Thell. – Fire Vine, "Spanish Flag"
• Ipomoea longifolia Benth. – Pink-throated Morning Glory
• Ipomoea macrantha
• Ipomoea macrorhiza Michx. – Large-rooted Morning Glory
• Ipomoea marginata (Desr.) Verdc.
• Ipomoea mauritiana
  Ipomoea mauritiana
  The giant potato is a type of morning glory plant. Like the sweet potato, it belongs to the Ipomoea genus. It grows as a vine....
  
   Jacq. – Giant Potato, Kiribadu Ala, likam (Hawaii)
• Ipomoea meyeri (Spreng.) G.Don – Meyer's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea microdactyla Griseb. – Calcareous Morning Glory
• Ipomoea × multifida
  Ipomoea × multifida
  Ipomea × multifida is a hybridogenic species. Its ancestors are the Scarlet Creeper and the Cypress Vine .Its allotetraploid is Ipomoea sloteri. Both are known as Cardinal Climber.- References :...
  
   – "Cardinal Climber" (I. coccinea × I. quamoclit)

• Ipomoea nil
  Ipomoea nil
  Ipomoea nil is a species of morning glory known by several common names, including picotee morning glory, ivy morning glory, and Japanese morning glory. It is native to most of the tropical world and it has been introduced widely....
  
   – White-edged Morning Glory, Ivy Morning Glory, Japanese Morning Glory
• Ipomoea obscura
  Ipomoea obscura
  Ipomoea obscura, the Obscure Morning Glory or Small White Morning Glory, is a species of the genus Ipomoea. It is native to parts of Africa, Asia, and certain Pacific Islands, and it is present in other areas as an introduced species...
  
   – Obscure Morning Glory, Small White Morning Glory
• Ipomoea ochracea (Lindl.) G.Don – Fence Morning Glory
• Ipomoea oenotherae Hallier f.
• Ipomoea pandurata
  Ipomoea pandurata
  Ipomoea pandurata the Wild Potato Vine, Big-rooted Morning Glory or Man-of-the-Earth is a species of herbaceous perennial vine. Another common name is "manroot", but that typically refers to the quite unrelated gourd genus Marah.It is rarely cultivated but grows wild in North America appearing...
  
   – Wild Potato Vine, Big-rooted Morning Glory, Man-of-the-Earth, "manroot
  Manroot
  The manroots, wild cucumbers, or cucumber gourd are flowering plants in the gourd family , native to western North America. They are also commonly called Old man in the ground. The genus name comes from Hebrew מָרָ֔א The manroots, wild cucumbers, or cucumber gourd (genus Marah) are flowering...
  
  "
• Ipomoea pes-caprae
  Ipomoea pes-caprae
  Ipomoea pes-caprae, also known as Beach Morning Glory or Goat's Foot, is a common pantropical creeping vine belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It grows on the upper parts of beaches and endures salted air. It is one of the most common and most widely distributed salt tolerant plants and...
  
   (L.) R.Br. – Beach Morning Glory, "goat's foot
  Oxalis pes-caprae
  Oxalis pes-caprae is a species of tristylous flowering plant in the wood sorrel family Oxalidaceae...
  
  "
  • Ipomoea pes-caprae ssp. brasiliensis – salsa-da-praia (Brazil)
• Ipomoea plebeia R.Br.
• Ipomoea plummerae Gray – Huachuca Mountain Morning Glory
• Ipomoea polymorpha Roem. & Schult. (= I. heterophylla R.Br.)
• Ipomoea pubescens Lam. – Silky Morning Glory (= I. heterophylla Ortega)
• Ipomoea pulcherrima
  Ipomoea pulcherrima
  Ipomoea pulcherrima is a species of plant in the Convolvulaceae family. It is endemic to Peru.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 22 August 2007....
  
  
• Ipomoea purga (Wender.) Hayne – Vera Cruz Jalap (= I. jalapa auct. non L.)
• Ipomoea purpurea
  Ipomoea purpurea
  Ipomoea purpurea, the Purple, Tall, or Common Morning Glory, is a species in the genus Ipomoea, native to Mexico and Central America. Like all morning glories the plant entwines itself around structures, growing to a height of 2–3 m tall. The leaves are heart-shaped and the stems are covered with...
  
   – Common Morning Glory, Purple Morning Glory, Tall Morning Glory
• Ipomoea quamoclit
  Ipomoea quamoclit
  Ipomoea quamoclit is a species of morning glory native to tropical regions of the New World from northern South America north to Mexico...
  
   – Cypress Vine, Cypressvine Morning Glory, Cardinal Creeper, Cardinal Vine, Star Glory, "hummingbird vine"
• Ipomoea racemigera F.Muell. & Tate
• Ipomoea repanda Jacq. – Bejuco Colorado
• Ipomoea repens
• Ipomoea rubens Choisy (= I. fragans)
• Ipomoea rupicola House – Cliff Morning Glory
• Ipomoea sagittata Poir. – Saltmarsh Morning Glory
• Ipomoea setifera Poir. – bejuco de Puerco
• Ipomoea setosa Ker Gawl. – Brazilian Morning Glory
• Ipomoea shumardiana (Torr.) Shinners – Narrow-leaved Morning Glory
• Ipomoea simulans – Tampico Jalap, purga de Sierra Gorda
• Ipomoea sloteri
  Ipomoea sloteri
  Ipomoea sloteri is an allotetraploid species derived from Ipomoea × multifida. It is a cultivated species with no natural range.Like Ipomoea × multifida, it is known as Cardinal Climber.- References :...
  
   – "Cardinal Climber"
• Ipomoea steudelii Millsp. – Steudel's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea stolonifera
• Ipomoea temascaltepecensis Wilkin
• Ipomoea tenuiloba Torr. – Spiderleaf
• Ipomoea tenuirostris
• Ipomoea tenuissima Choisy – Rockland Morning Glory
• Ipomoea ternifolia Cav. – Triple-leaved Morning Glory
• Ipomoea thurberi Gray – Thurber's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea tricolor
  Ipomoea tricolor
  Ipomoea tricolor is a species of morning glory native to the New World tropics, and widely cultivated and naturalised elsewhere. It is a herbaceous annual or perennial twining liana growing to 2-4 m tall. The leaves are spirally arranged, 3-7 cm long with a 1.5-6 cm long petiole...
  
   Cav. – Mexican Morning Glory, tlitliltzin (Nahuatl), badoh negro
• Ipomoea triloba
  Ipomoea triloba
  Ipomoea triloba is a species of morning glory known by several common names, including littlebell and Aiea morning glory. It is native to the tropical Americas but it is widespread in warm areas of the world where it is an introduced species and often a noxious weed...
  
   – Littlebell, Aiea Morning Glory
• Ipomoea tuberculata
  Ipomoea tuberculata
  Ipomoea tuberculata is a flowering plant species in the bindweed family . It belongs to the morning glory genus Ipomoea....
  
  
• Ipomoea tuberosa L. – Hawaiian Woodrose
• Ipomoea tuboides O.Deg. & van Ooststr. – Hawaii Morning Glory
• Ipomoea turbinata Lag. – Lilacbell
• Ipomoea velutina R.Br.
• Ipomoea violacea
  Ipomoea violacea
  Ipomoea violacea is a perennial species of Ipomoea that occurs throughout the tropics, growing in coastal regions. It is most commonly called 'Beach Moonflower' or 'Sea Moonflower' as the flowers open at night...
  
   L. – Beach Moonflower, Sea Moonflower
• Ipomoea wrightii
  Ipomoea wrightii
  Ipomea wrightii, Wright's Morning Glory, is a species of morning glory.It is generally described as an Annual, Perennial Vine or Forb or herb. Wright's Morning Glory is not native to the United States and is considered as an invasive species...
  
   – Wright's Morning Glory

Formerly placed here

• Ellisia nyctelea (L.) L. (as I. nyctelea L.)
• Jacquemontia ovalifolia (as I. ovalifolia Choisy)
• Jacquemontia tamnifolia (L.) Griseb. (as I. tamnifolia L.)
• Merremia aegyptia (L.) Urb. (as I. aegyptia L.)
• Merremia cissoides (Lam.) Hallier f. (as I. cissoides (Lam.) Griseb.)
• Merremia discoidesperma (Donn. Sm.) O'Donell (as I. discoidesperma Donn. Sm.)
• Merremia dissecta (Jacq.) Hallier f. (as I. dissecta (Jacq.) Pursh or I. sinuata Ortega)
• Merremia emarginata (Burm. f.) Hallier f. (as I. reniformis (Roxb.) Sweet)
• Merremia kingii (Prain) Kerr (as I. kingii Prain)
• Merremia mammosa (Lour.) Hallier f. (as I. mammosa (Lour.) Choisy)
• Merremia peltata
  Merremia peltata
  Merremia peltata is a species of flowering vine in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae, that is native to Pemba Island, the Mascarene Islands, Madagascar, the Seychelles, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, northern Queensland and French Polynesia. It has been introduced and subsequently...
  
   (L.) Merr. (as I. nymphaeifolia Blume)
• Merremia pterygocaulos (Choisy) Hallier f. (as I. pterygocaulos Choisy)
• Merremia quinquefolia (L.) Hallier f. (as I. quinquefolia L.)

• Merremia sibirica (L.) Hallier f. (as I. sibirica (L.) Pers.)
• Merremia tuberosa (L.) Rendle (as I. tuberosa L.)
• Merremia umbellata (L.) Hallierf. (as I. polyanthes Roem. & Schult. or I. pterodes Choisy)
• Operculina aequisepala (Domin) R.W.Johnson (as I. aequisepala Domin)
• Operculina hamiltonii (G.Don) D.F.Austin & Staples (I. hamiltonii G.Don)
• Operculina turpethum
  Operculina turpethum
  A plant in the morning glory family, Operculina turpethum is known commonly as turpeth, fue vao, and St. Thomas lidpod....
  
   (L.) Silva Manso (as I. turpethum (L.) R.Br.)
• Piper kadsura
  Piper kadsura
  Piper kadsura is an East Asian species of pepper vine. It belongs to the magnoliid family Piperaceae family.In Japanese, it is known as fūtōkazura ....
  
   (Choisy) Ohwi (as I. kadsura Choisy)
• Stictocardia macalusoi (Mattei) Verdc. (as I. macalusoi Mattei)
• Stictocardia tiliifolia (Desr.) Hallier f. (as I. campanulata L.)
• Turbina corymbosa (L.) Raf. (as I. burmannii Choisy)
• Xenostegia medium (L.) D.F.Austin & Staples (as I. medium (L.) Druce)
• Xenostegia tridentata (L.) D.F.Austin & Staples (as I. angustifolia Jacq.)

See also

• Jalap
  Jalap
  Jalap is a cathartic drug consisting of the tuberous roots of Ipomoea purga, a convolvulaceous plant growing on the eastern declivities of the Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico at an elevation of 5000 to 8000 ft...
  
  
• Canudos
  Canudos
  Canudos was a town founded in the racially diverse Bahia state of northeastern Brazil in 1893 by Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel. Antonio was an itinerant preacher from Ceara who had been wandering through the backroads and lesser-inhabited areas of the country from the 1870s onwards, followed by a...
  
  
• List of Lepidoptera that feed on Ipomoea

Sources

• Fine Gardening: Morning glories and more