Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth

Global description

Ipomoea nil is an herbaceous vine, can measure 3 m long, with oval leaves, usually tri-lobed. The stem is usually hairy with long hairs pointing downwards. The trumpet-shaped flower, 4 to 6 cm in diameter, is pale blue with a white center, changing in color and becoming purplish pink before fading. The fruit, globular in shape, is surrounded by the long tines of the sepals. It has seeds in the form of quarter oranges, covered with fine hairs.
 
Cotyledons
 
The cotyledons are remarkable by the shape of the deeply bilobed lamina, usually up to a lower third. The two lobes are divergent, with a rounded apex. The base is truncated or slightly cordate. The cotyledons are carried by a long petiole, 2.5mm.
 
First leaves
 
The first leaves are alternate, simple, entire or already starting to be tri-lobed. They are held by a long petiole and are deeply cordate at the base.
 
General habit
 
Twining herbaceous plant. The stems can grow up to 3 meters long.
 
Underground system
 
The plant has a taproot system.
 
Stem
 
The stem is cylindrical or angular, 1 to 4 mm in diameter, more or less branched voluble, measuring up to 3 m. It is covered with long reflective hairs. It can become glabrous with age but generally remains more or less hairy.
 
Leaf
 
The leaves are alternate, simple. They are carried by a long petiole of 5 to 8 cm, covered with fine reflective hairs. The leaf blade can be entire, or more frequently tri-lobed, 5 to 15 cm long and 4 to 12 cm wide. The base is deeply cordate, the top of the lobes is  acuminate. The median lobe is a little longer than the other. The leaf blade has a main network from 3 to 5 palmate veins. The margin is entire. The hairs are applied and sparsely covered on both sides, there are however some longer hairs on the veins of the lower face.
 
Inflorescence
 
The inflorescence consists of flowers which are in groups of 1 to 5 at the end of an axillary peduncle, 3 to 6 cm long.
 
Flower
 
Each flower is carried by a short pedicel of 5 mm, emerging from two small linear bracts. The calyx has five hairy sepals, 25 mm to 35 mm long, linear in the upper part. The base is oval and expanded. The corolla is campanulate 4 to 6 cm wide, 5 to 6 cm long, the tube is 10 mm wide. The flowers are of a beautiful blue in the morning with white center, and turn pink before closing.
 
Fruit
 
The fruit is a broadly ovoid capsule, 8 to 10 mm in length and width, remaining surrounded by the long tines of the calyx. It can contain 4-6 seeds.
 
Seed
 
The seed is trigonal, measuring 5 mm long and 3 mm wide. The seed coat is covered with a fine gray pubescence.

Origin

Ipomoea nil is native to Central and South America.

Worldwide distribution

This species is now widely distributed in all tropical regions (Africa, Asia, Oceania).

https://www.gbif.org/fr/species/2928534