Ipomoea adenioides
Schinz
Trumpet-flower
(c) Tony Benn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Tony Benn
(c) Gary House, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Gary House
What to Eat
Edible parts: Root, Tubers
Ipomoea aquatica, known as water spinach, water morning glory, water convolvulus, ong-choy, kang-kung, or swamp cabbage, is popularly used as a leaf vegetable, especially in East and Southeast Asian cuisines. As of 2005, the state of Texas has acknowledged that water spinach is a highly prized vegetable in many cultures, and has allowed it to be grown for personal consumption, in part because it is known to have been grown in Texas for more than 15 years and has not yet escaped cultivation. The genus Ipomoea also contains the sweet potato (I. batatas). Though the term "morning glory" is not usually extended to I. batatas, sometimes it may be referred to as a "tuberous morning glory" in a horticultural context.
Where to Find It
It is a tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in hot arid places. It grows in places with a marked dry season. It needs well drained soils. It can grow in rocky and sandy soils as well as clays and loams. It grows between 400-1,100 m above sea level. It can grow in arid places.
Africa, Angola, Botswana, Central Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, Zimbabwe,
How to Identify
A shrub. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows 1.5 m high. The bark is grey. The young branches have a soft silvery covering. The leaves are simple and arranged in spirals. They are broadly oval and 3-8 cm long by 1-5 cm wide. They are folded along the midrib and are slightly leathery. They are bright green above and dull with white hairs underneath. The flowers occur singly in the axils of leaves. They are white with a tube 7-10 cm long and 5 cm wide. The fruit is a dry capsule.
Names & Synonyms
Okanakamudesha, Seroa
References (8)
- Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 158
- Mannheimer, C. A. & Curtis. B.A. (eds), 2009, Le Roux and Muller's Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of Namibia. Windhoek: Macmillan Education Namibia. p 418
- Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 94
- Rodin, 1985,
- Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (1999). Survey of Economic Plants for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (SEPASAL) database. Published on the Internet; http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/ceb/sepasal/internet [Accessed 14th April 2011]
- Ruiters-Welcome, A. K., 2019, Food plants of southern Africa. Ph.D. thesis. Univ. of Johannesburg p 45
- 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
- World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
