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Convolvulaceae (morning glory, Sweet potato  family)

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) >  Eudicotyledons >  Order: Solanales

 

Ipomoea 

Common Morning Glory Ipomoea purpurea, alongside suburban road in Cape Town. Originates from Tropical America.

Convolvulus 

Convolvulus mauritanicus in the Company Gardens, Cape Town. Native to North Africa.

 

 

Genera native or naturalised (*) in southern Africa

List from Welman (2000).

Astripomoea

About 12 species, native to Africa, with 3 species in southern Africa.

 

Bonamia

About 40 species, widespread in tropics, with one species, Bonamia velutina, native to southern Africa.

 

Calystegia

About 25 species, native to tropical and temperate regions, with 2 species indigenous and 1 species naturalised in southern Africa.

 

Convolvulus

 About 250 species, found worldwide, with 14 species indigenous and 1 species naturalised in southern Africa. Differs from Ipomoea in having the stigma divided.

Convolvulus mauritanicus

Cuscuta (dodders)

Parasites. About 140 species, widespread in warmer regions, with 15 species native to southern Africa. In addition, Cuscuta campestris (Common dodder, Gewone dodder) and Cuscuta suaveolens (Lucerne dodder, Luserndodder) are naturalised species that are declared Category 1 invasive plants in South Africa.

 

* Dichondra

About 4 or 5 species, native mainly to America. Dichondra micrantha is naturalised in southern Africa.

 

Evolvable

About 100 species, native mainly to tropical America but with 2 species native to southern Africa .

 

Falkia

The 3 species are native to Africa, with 2 of them occurring in southern Africa.

 

Hewittia

One species, Hewittia malabarica, which occurs in the tropics and subtropics worldwide.

 

Ipomoea (Morning Glory and Sweet Potato genus)

About 500 species, found worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions, with 56 species native to southern Africa. Differs from Convolvulus in not having stigma divided.

Ipomoea purpurea (Common Morning Glory)

Jacquemontia

About 120 species, occurring predominantly in America but also found in tropical Africa, Asia and Australia. Jacquemontia tamnifolia is the only species native to southern Africa .

 

Merremia

About 80 species, worldwide in warm regions, with 9 species native to southern Africa.

 

Paralepistemon

One species: Paralepistemon shirensis, distributed over central and subtropical Africa, extending into Limpopo province.

 

Seddera

About 20 species, native to Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula and India, with 3 species found in southern Africa.

 

Stictocardia

About 12 species, found in tropical regions, with 1 species, Stictocardia laxiflora, native to southern Africa.

 

Xenostegia

The 2 species are distributed over the Old World tropics, with 1 species, Xenostegia tridentata, native to southern Africa.

 
 

Publications

  • Welman, W.G. 2000. Convolvulaceae. In: Seed Plants of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 231-234. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.

  

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