Water Morning Glory

Ipomoea aquatica

Summary 9

Ipomoea aquatica is a semiaquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots and leaves. It is found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, although it is not known where it originated. This plant is known in English as water spinach, river spinach, water morning glory, water convolvulus, or by the more ambiguous names Chinese spinach, Chinese Watercress, Chinese convolvulus, swamp cabbage

Invasiveness 10

Ipomoea aquatica is listed on the USDA internet site as a "Class A noxious weed", especially in the states of Florida, California, and Hawaii, where it can be observed growing in the wild. I. aquatica has been extensively cultivated in Texas for over 30 years, having been originally brought there by Asian immigrants. Because no evidence indicates the plant has escaped into the wild, Texas lifted its ban on cultivation for personal use with no restrictions or requirements, noting its importance as a vegetable in many cultures, and also began permitting cultivation for commercial sales with the requirement of an exotic species permit. In Sri Lanka, it invades wetlands, where its long, floating stems form dense mats which can block the flow of water and prevent passage of boats.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Pat Enright, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Pat Enright
  2. (c) Juha Tuomola, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Juha Tuomola
  3. (c) Greg III Espera, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Greg III Espera
  4. (c) Lera Miles, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Lera Miles
  5. (c) Shawn O'Donnell, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Shawn O'Donnell
  6. (c) Affan Nasaruddin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Affan Nasaruddin
  7. (c) johnallcock, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by johnallcock
  8. (c) eunakwong, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
  9. Adapted by Kate Wagner from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_aquatica
  10. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipomoea_aquatica

More Info

iNat Map

Flower color white