Ipomoea

Morning Glories, Sweet Potato
Genus:	Ipomoea
Family:	Convolvulaceae
Weediness:	Some species are very weedy

The genus Ipomoea, with over 500 species, is the largest genus in the family Convolvulaceae. The genus occurs throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and comprises annual and perennial herbaceous plants, viness, shrubs and small trees; most of the species are twining climbing plants. Many species are known as morning glory, a name shared with some other related genera.

The genus includes important food crops (sweet potato and water spinach) and Ipomoea violacea, source of the Mexican psychedelic drug, tlitliltzin. Species and cultivars of Ipomoea grown as morning glory are popular in gardens for their often stunning flowers.

Description

Flowers are regular and bisexual, with 5 sepals and a funnelform corolla with 5 lobes and stripes. The 5 stamens sit low in the tube, 1 style. The flower buds are "pleated", and open by untwisting. The fruit is a dry 4-6 valved capsule, containing as many seeds. Foliage is alternate, simple or compound. Most if not all temperate species are twining vines, with the stems containing a milky juice.

Growing Conditions

Most species require full sun.

Selected Species

• Ipomoea alba L. – Moonflower
• Ipomoea amnicola Morong – Redcenter Morning Glory
• Ipomoea aquatica – Water spinach
• Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. – Sweet potato
• Ipomoea cairica Sweet. - Mile-a-minute vine
• Ipomoea cordifolia Carey ex Voight – Heartleaf Morning Glory
• Ipomoea costata Australian Bush Potato
• Ipomoea costellata Torr. – Crestrib Morning Glory
• Ipomoea cristulata Hallier f. – Transpecos Morning Glory
• Ipomoea dumetorum Willd. ex Roemer & J.A.Schultes – Railwaycreeper
• Ipomoea eggersiana Peter
• Ipomoea eggersii (House) D.Austin – Egger's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea hederacea Jacq. – Ivyleaf Morning Glory
• Ipomoea hederifolia L. – Scarlet Creeper
• Ipomoea horsfalliae Hook.f. – Lady Doorly's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea imperati (Vahl) Griseb. – Beach Morning Glory
• Ipomoea indica (Burm.f.) Merr. – Oceanblue Morning Glory
• Ipomoea jalapa (L.) Pursh. – Jalap
• Ipomoea krugii Urban – Krug's White Morning Glory
• Ipomoea lacunosa L. – Whitestar
• Ipomoea leptophylla Torr. – Bush Morning Glory
• Ipomoea lindheimeri Gray – Lindheimer's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea littoralis Blume – Whiteflower beach Morning Glory
• Ipomoea lobata (Cerv.) Thell.
• Ipomoea longifolia Benth. – Pinkthroat Morning Glory
• Ipomoea macrorhiza Michx. – Largeroot Morning Glory
• Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq. – Giant Potato
• Ipomoea meyeri (Spreng.) G.Don – Meyer's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea microdactyla Griseb. – Calcareous Morning Glory
• Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth – White-edge Morning Glory
• Ipomoea obscura (L.) Ker Gawl. – Obscure Morning Glory
• Ipomoea ochracea (Lindl.) G.Don – Fence Morning Glory
• Ipomoea pandurata (L.) G.F.W.Mey. – Wild Potato Vine or Manroot
• Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) R.Br. – Beach Morning Glory
• Ipomoea plummerae Gray – Huachuca Mountain Morning Glory
• Ipomoea pubescens Lam. – Silky Morning Glory
• Ipomoea purga (Wender.) Hayne – Jalap
• Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth – Common Morning Glory or Tall Morning Glory
• Ipomoea quamoclit L. – Cypressvine or Hummingbird Vine
• Ipomoea repanda Jacq. – Bejuco Colorado
• 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 – Narrowleaf Morning Glory
• Ipomoea sloteri – Cardinal Climber
• Ipomoea steudelii Millsp. – Steudel's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea tenuiloba Torr. – Spiderleaf
• Ipomoea tenuissima Choisy – Rockland Morning Glory
• Ipomoea ternifolia – Tripleleaf Morning Glory
• Ipomoea thurberi – Thurber's Morning Glory
• Ipomoea tricolor – Tlitliltzin, Ololiuqui or Mexican Morning Glory
• Ipomoea triloba – Littlebell
• Ipomoea tuboides – Hawaii Morning Glory
• Ipomoea turbinata – Lilacbell
• Ipomoea violacea
• Ipomoea versicolor
• Ipomoea wrightii – Wright's Morning Glory

Propagation

Seeds must be soaked before planting.

Pests and Diseases

Leaf Spots

• Alternaria
• Cercospora abamensis
• Cercospora ipomoeae
• Cercospora viridula

Blight

• Southern Blight

Wilts

Stem Rots

Charcoal Rots

Cankers

• Vermicularia ipomoearum

Rusts

• Albugo ipomoeae-panduratae
• Coleosporium ipomoeae (Alternate hosts in Pinus)
• Puccinia crassipes

White Rusts Root Knot

• Root Knot Nematodes: Meliodgyne spp.

Aphids

• Cotton Aphid: Aphis Gossypii

Scales

• Lesser Snow Scale: Pinnaspis strachani

Hoppers

• Potato Leafhopper: Empoasca fabae
• Western Potato Leafhopper: Empoasca abrupta

Whiteflies

• Silverleaf Whitefly: Bemisia argentifolii
• Sweet Potato Whitefly: Bemisia tabaci
• Greenhouse Whitefly: Trialeurodes vaporariorum

Bugs

• Garden Flea Hopper: Halticus bractatus
• Four Lined Plant Bug: Poecilocapsus lineatus

Beetles

• Gulf Wireworm (Click Beetle): Conoderus amplicollis
• Southern Potato Wireworm (Click Beetle): Conoderus falli
• Eastern Field Wireworm (Click Beetle): Limontius agonsus
• Columbia Basin Wireworm (Click Beetle): Limontius subauretus
• Argus Tortoise Beetle: Chelymorpha cassidea
• Asiatic Garden Beetle: Maladerma castanea
• Banded Cucumber Beetle: Diabrotica balteata
• Blister Beetles: Epicauta spp.:
• Blacklegged Tortoise Beetle: Jonthonota nigripes
• Golden Tortoise Beetle: Chadidotella bicolor
• Mottled Tortoise Beetle: Deloyala guttata
• Palestriped Flea Beetle: Systena blanda
• Spotted Cucumber Beetle: Diabrotica undecimipunctata
• Striped Tortoise Beetle: Agrioconota bivittata
• Sweet Potato Flea Beetle: Chaetocnema confinis
• Sweet Potato Leaf Beetle: Typophorus nigritus
• Whitefringed Beetles: Naupactus spp.:

Weevils

• Sweet Potato Weevil Cyclas formicarius

Caterpillars

• Morning Glory Leaf Miner: Bedellia somnulentella
• Yellow Woolybear Caterpillar: Diacrisia virginica
• Corn Earworm: Heliothis zea
• Morning Glory Leafcutter: Loxostege obliteralis
• Beet Armyworm: Spodoptera exigua
• Black Cutworm: Agrostis ipsilon
• Granulate Cutworm: Agrostis subterranea
• Southern Armyworm: Spodoptera eridania
• Sweet Potato Hornworm (Pinkspotted Hawk Moth): Agrius cingulata
• Yellowstriped Armyworm: Spodoptera ornithogalli

Ipomoea species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species - see w:list of Lepidoptera which feed on Ipomoea.

References

• Britton, Nathaniel Lord; Addison Brown (1913). An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Volume 3 (second edition ed.). Dover Publications, inc.. pp. 43-45. 
• Ann Fowler Rhoads and Timothy A. Block (2000). The Plants of Pennsylvania: An Illustrated Manual. Anna Anisko, illustrator. Morris Arboretum, University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 360-362. 
• P. D. Strausbaugh and Earl L. Core (1977). Flora of West Virginia (Second ed.). Seneca Books, Grantsville, W. Virginia. pp. 758-761. 
• Christopher Brickell and Judith D. Zuk (1997). The American Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. DK Publishing. pp. 555-556. 
• Staff of the L. H. Bailey Hortorium (1976). Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press. pp. 596-598. 
• Pirone, Pascal P. (1978). Diseases & Pests of Ornamental Plants (Fifth Edition ed.). John Wiley & Sons, New York. pp. 315. 
• Cranshaw, Whitney (2004). Garden Insects of North America: The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs. Princeton University Press. pp. 600. 
• Pippa Greenwood, Andrew Halstead, A.R. Chase, Daniel Gilrein (2000). American Horticultural Society Pests & Diseases: The Complete Guide to Preventing, Identifying, and Treating Plant Problems (First Edition ed.). Dorling Kindersley (DK) Publishing, inc.. pp. 197, 203.