entire-leaved morning glory

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• entire-leaved morning glory
• ivy-leaved morning glory
• Ivy-Leaved Morning-Glory
• ivy-leaf morning-glory
• ivyleaf morning-glory
• woolly morning-glory

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Pharbitis barbigera
• Pharbitis hederacea
• Pharbitis scabrida
• Cleiemera hederacea
• Ipomoea barbata
• Ornithosperma autumnalis
• Ipomoea desertorum
• Pharbitis barbata
• Pharbitis hederacea var. nil
• Pharbitis triloba
• Pharbitis polymorpha
• Cleiemera hirsuta
• Ipomoea hederacea var. integriuscula
• Ipomoea barbigera
• Ipomoea phymatodes
• Ipomoea scabrida

Regional and Traditional Names

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and is classified under the phylum Streptophyta and the class Equisetopsida. Within the subclass Magnoliidae, it falls under the order Solanales and the family Convolvulaceae. Ultimately, it is categorized under the genus Ipomoea.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a varied geographical distribution across several regions of the European continent. In Northern Europe, its presence can be identified within the borders of Great Britain. Moving into Middle Europe, it is found in both Belgium and Germany. The species also extends into Southeastern Europe, where it inhabits the landscape of Greece. Finally, its range continues through Southeastern Europe to include Romania.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Ecology

The ecology of Ipomoea hederacea is characterized by its ability to colonize and thrive within anthropogenic areas (Área Antrópica), where it often integrates into disturbed landscapes. As a climbing or trailing herbaceous plant, it exploits human-modified environments such as roadsides, urban margins, and cleared lands, utilizing artificial or disturbed substrates to establish its presence. In these habitats, the species demonstrates significant adaptability to the structural changes caused by human activity, often occupying edges of vegetation or climbing over anthropogenic structures. This tendency to inhabit human-influenced zones suggests a resilient ecological strategy that allows it to navigate and utilize the altered niches found within disturbed ecosystems.

Habitat :

Área Antrópica

Life history

The life history of Ipomoea hederaeacea is characterized by its classification as an annual lifecycle, meaning it completes its entire biological progression from germination to seed production within a single growing season. In terms of its structural life form, the species functions as a therophyte, a strategy defined by its tendency to survive unfavorable environmental conditions through the production of seeds rather than maintaining perennial vegetative structures. This therophytic nature ensures that the plant can rapidly exploit available resources during favorable periods before transitioning entirely to its reproductive phase to secure the next generation.

Life form :

therophyte

Lifecycle :

annual

Morphology

The morphology of Ipomoea hederaeacea is characterized by its growth form as a non-woody herb and a climbing forb. It functions as an obligatory climber, utilizing a vine-like habit to ascend supports, and is classified as an independent organism rather than a parasite. While it can exist in various moisture regimes ranging from aquatic and semiaquatic to terrestrial environments, it is primarily identified as a terrestrial species. Furthermore, it lacks epiphytic tendencies, maintaining a strictly terrestrial existence rather than acting as a holoepiphyte or hemiepiphyte.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

vine

Climber :

obligatory

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

herb

Growth form :

forb

Parasite :

independent

Woodiness :

non-woody

Physiology

The physiology of Ipomoea hederaea is characterized by its specific carbon fixation strategy, utilizing the C3 photosynthetic pathway. Under this mechanism, the plant undergoes the Calvin cycle where atmospheric carbon dioxide is fixed directly by the enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) into three-carbon compounds within the mesophyll cells. This C3 pathway dictates the plant's metabolic efficiency and water-use strategy, as it lacks the specialized bundle sheath anatomy found in C4 plants or the nocturnal acid accumulation seen in CAM plants, making its gas exchange and photosynthetic rate highly sensitive to ambient light intensity, temperature, and moisture availability.

Photosynthetic pathway :

C3

Reproduction

Reproduction in Ipomoea hederacea is characterized by the production of seeds that exhibit specific quantitative variations in mass. The seeds produced by this species follow a relatively narrow distribution of weight, with a calculated mean seed mass of 0.02819 g. Within the population, individual seed masses fluctuate between a minimum value of 0.02498 g and a maximum value of 0.0314 g. These morphological traits regarding seed weight are critical components of the plant's reproductive strategy and dispersal potential.

Seed mass max:

0.0314 g

Seed mass mean:

0.02819 g

Seed mass min:

0.02498 g

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Ipomoea hederacea has 1 reported plant parts identified across 1 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include seed.

Seed

1. Biological research

Activities

Ipomoea hederacea has 3 reported activities identified across 1 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Anthelmintic, Cytotoxic, Phytotoxic.

Anthelmintic

1. Biological research

Cytotoxic

1. Biological research

Phytotoxic

1. Biological research