Water Morning Glory
Ipomoea aquatica
Its hollow, spongy stems act as built-in flotation devices, allowing the plant to float effortlessly on the water's surface to maximize its exposure to sunlight.
- Scientific name
- Ipomoea aquatica
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Solanales › Convolvulaceae › Ipomoea
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Slow-moving waterways, marshlands, canals, and muddy riverbanks.
- Diet
- Autotrophic (utilizes photosynthesis to convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into energy).
- Range
- Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Northern Australia, introduced in parts of North America
- Size
- Stems can creep or float up to 3 meters (10 feet) in length.
- Lifespan
- Perennial (can live indefinitely through continuous vegetative cloning).
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Agricultural runoff, heavy metal water pollution, and aggressive herbicide clearing in areas where it is considered an invasive weed.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and highly edible. Safe to approach and touch. If harvesting for culinary use, ensure the water source is clean and free of chemical runoff, and cook thoroughly to eliminate aquatic parasites like giant intestinal flukes.
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 or kangkong in Southeast Asia. Occasionally, it has also...
Photo: Greg III Espera, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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