Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.

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Ipomoea batatas

Photo: Bart Wursten
Nhancuco, lower slopes Mt Gorongosa

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: Bart Wursten
Nhancuco, lower slopes Mt Gorongosa

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: Bart Wursten
Nhancuco, lower slopes Mt Gorongosa

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: David Gwynne-Evans
Lower slopes Mt Mabu

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: David Gwynne-Evans
Lower slopes Mt Mabu

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: Sune Holt
Munavalate, Vilanculos Distr., Inhambane, Mozambique

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: Sune Holt
Munavalate, Vilanculos Distr., Inhambane, Mozambique

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: Sune Holt
Munavalate, Vilanculos Distr., Inhambane, Mozambique

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: Sune Holt
Munavalate, Vilanculos Distr., Inhambane, Mozambique

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: Sune Holt
Munavalate, Vilanculos Distr., Inhambane, Mozambique

Ipomoea batatas

Photo: Sune Holt
Munavalate, Vilanculos Distr., Inhambane, Mozambique

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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)

Synonyms: Convolvulus batatas L.
Convolvulus edulis Thunb.
Common names: Sweet potato (English)
Frequency:
Status: Introduced
Description:
Perennial herb, widely cultivated for its edible tubers. Stems with milky sap, prostate, rooting at the nodes, rarely twining. Leaves, up to 10 × 13 cm, triangular to broadly ovate in outline, entire or more or less deeply palmately 3-7-lobed, more or less cordate at the base. Flowers in several flowered axillary clusters on a long peduncle. Corolla funnel-shaped, pale mauve to whitish. Capsule ovoid.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name: batatas: Haitian name for the Sweet potato
Habitat: Occasionally found in wet sandy soils as an escape from cultivation.
Altitude range:
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution: Probably native to South America
Malawi distribution: C
Growth form(s): Climber.
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species: Achaea catella (Larval food plant)
Spot characters: Display spot characters for this species
Literature:

Gonçalves, M.L. (1987). Convolvulaceae Flora Zambesiaca 8(1) Pages 89 - 90. (Includes a picture).

Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 36.

Other sources of information about Ipomoea batatas:

Our websites:

Flora of Caprivi: Ipomoea batatas
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Ipomoea batatas
Flora of Malawi: cultivated Ipomoea batatas
Flora of Mozambique: Ipomoea batatas
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Ipomoea batatas
Flora of Zambia: Ipomoea batatas
Flora of Zambia: cultivated Ipomoea batatas
Flora of Zimbabwe: Ipomoea batatas
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Ipomoea batatas

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Ipomoea batatas
African Plant Database: Ipomoea batatas
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Ipomoea batatas
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Ipomoea batatas
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Ipomoea batatas
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Ipomoea batatas
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Ipomoea batatas
JSTOR Plant Science: Ipomoea batatas
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Ipomoea batatas
Plants of the World Online: Ipomoea batatas
Tropicos: Ipomoea batatas
Wikipedia: Ipomoea batatas


Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2014-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Malawi: Species information: Ipomoea batatas.
https://www.malawiflora.com/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=147550, retrieved 29 March 2024

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