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Ipomoea sinensis

(Desr.) Choisy

Purple-throat Ipomoea

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(c) James Bailey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by James Bailey

iNaturalist· cc0

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Description

A slender trailing or twining annual herb. It grows 1 m long. The leaves are oval and 2-10 cm long by 2-7 cm wide. They are heart shaped at the base. There are 1-3 flowers in a group. The fruit capsule is round and 5-10 mm across. The seeds are hairy.

Edible Uses

The root is cooked as a vegetable. The leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

Traditional Uses

The root is cooked as a vegetable. The leaves are cooked as a vegetable.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. In Africa it grows between 450-900 m above sea level. It grows in grassland and sandy soils.

Where It Grows

Africa, Angola, Asia, Botswana, Burundi, Central Africa, China, Congo, East Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Middle East, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, North Africa, Rwanda, Sahel, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uganda, West Africa, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Synonyms

Convolvulus sinensis Desr.

Also Known As

Horbaia, Hossohorbaia, Kamiwi

References (10)

  • Addis, G., Asfaw, Z & Woldu, Z., 2013, Ethnobotany of Wild and Semi-wild Edible Plants of Konso Ethnic Community, South Ethiopia. Ethnobotany Research and Applications. 11:121-141
  • East African Herbarium records, 1981,
  • Flora Somalia Vol. 1, 1993, http://plants.jstor.org
  • Goode, P., 1989, Edible Plants of Uganda. FAO p 30
  • Lulekal, E., et al, 2011, Wild edible plants in Ethiopia: a review on their potential to combat food insecurity. Afrika Focus - Vol. 24, No 2. pp 71-121
Show all 10 references
  • Ogle & Grivetti, 1985,
  • Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 95
  • Roodt, V., 1998, Common Wild Flowers of the Okavango Delta. Medicinal Uses and Nutritional value. The Shell Field Guide Series: Part 2. Shell Botswana. p 64
  • Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 46
  • Welcome, A. K. & Van Wyk, B.-E., 2019, An inventory and analysis of the food plants of southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany 122 (2019) 136–179

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