Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq., Collectanea

B. D., Williams, R. C., Francisco, B., Mewded, C. P., Oppong, C. B., Ayensu, C. W., Masinde, D. B., Chukwuma, A. G., Deresa, D. D., Yeboah, F., Rasaminirina, U. P., Igho-Osagie, M. J., Korir, K. B., Antwi-Boasiako, R. A., Mfodwo, A. S. M., Mutegeki, P., Atta-Adjei, P. K., Akomatey, S., Kumordzie, R., Borosova, C., Tang, A., Asase, G., Ameka & Simões, A. R. G., 2024, Advancing knowledge of West African morning glories: a taxonomic account of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) from Ghana, Rheedea 34 (5), pp. 397-429 : 418

18. Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq., Collectanea 4: 216. 1791. Type: Iconotype, Jacquin, Pl. Hort. Schoenbr.: t. 200. 1797.

Annual, climbing herbs, with enlarged storage roots. Stems prostrate, often woody in the lower parts, cylindrical, more or less fistulose, muricate, with faint longitudinal ridges, ramified, glabrous. Leaves deeply palmately lobed, suborbicular in outline, 7–18 × 6–17 cm, base cordate, apex acuminate or obtuse and mucronulate, 5–7 lobed, the outer lobes sometimes bifid, margin entire, overall glabrous except puberulent below, near the base or sparsely pubescent along the main veins; petiole 3–15 cm long, glabrous or muricate. Inflorescences puberulent; peduncle cylindrical or slightly angular, 2.5–20 cm long; bracteoles oblong, caducous, 1–2 mm. Flower: pedicel cylindrical, 1.5–4.5 cm long, glabrous. Sepals subequal, suborbicular to broadly elliptic, 6–7 mm long, imbricate and appressed to the corolla tube, rounded to obtuse at the apex, coriaceous, margin hyaline, glabrous. Corolla funnel-shaped, 5–8 cm long, bright pink to whitish, with a purple darker center, glabrous, with a broad cylindrical tube, gradually opening up towards the apex, often with lobes deeply marked and spreading. Stamens included; filaments up to 2 cm long, widened and pubescent at the base; anthers 3–4 mm long, white, sagittate at the base. Ovary conical, 2-locular, glabrous; style filiform, puberulous. Fruits ovoid, 10–15 × 8–15 mm, obtuse at the apex, 2-locular, glabrous; seeds 5–7 mm, black, covered in long white silky hairs.

Vernacular names: finger-leaf morning-glory (English), loviaton (Pèdah), akar lanar (Malay), kamkamóte ( Philippines) ( Prota, 2024).

Flowering & fruiting: Produces flowers all year round ( Heine, 1963).

Habitat: Growing primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome; scattered throughout the tropics but rarely abundant ( POWO, 2024). They can grow up to 150 m above sea-level.

Distribution: Native in Tropical America and Africa, introduced in other tropical and subtropical regions ( POWO, 2024). In Ghana, widespread: Greater Accra, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Volta, Eastern, Northern and Central regions ( Fig. 2).

Specimens examined (selected): GHANA, Greater Accra region, Legon Hill , 11.12.1955, C .D. Adams 3587 (GC); Ashanti region, Atewa Range F . R ., alt. 2600’, 13.05.1967, Enti & Jenik 36454 ( GC); Brong Ahafo region, Yeji on the Tamale Road , 13.08.1963, M . Ansa-Emmim & S . K . Adom-Boafo 245 ( GC) ; Volta region, Chai River Forest Reserve, 8 o 06’N, 0 o 24’E, Alt 400 m, 22.05.1996, C . C .H. Jongkind & C . M .J. Nieuwenhuis 2806 ( GC); Eastern region, Asamankese roadside, 01.01.1929, E . D. Plumptre 72 ( GC) .

Conservation status: Not evaluated.

Uses: The plant is extensively used across Asia, especially for medicinal purposes: in Peninsular Malaysia, the root is pounded and applied to swellings; in India and the Philippines, the root is considered tonic, alterative, aphrodisiac, demulcent, lactagogue and cholagogue, and is used for fever and bronchitis; the powdered root is given for diseases of spleen and liver, for menorrhagia, debility and fat accumulation. In India, the seeds are also used for coagulating milk. The plant is also grown for ornamental purposes, and as a fodder for cattle ( Prota, 2024).

Notes: An American plant now widely distributed in the tropics of the Old World; naturalized in waste places and residential areas.