Taxon: Ipomoea cairica (L.) Sweet

Summary

Genus:

Ipomoea

Subgenus:

Quamoclit

Family:

Convolvulaceae

Tribe:

Ipomoeeae

Nomen number:

20148

Place of publication:

Hort. brit. ed. 1:287. 1826

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30078607

Verified:

04/15/1987 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

17 (9 active, 1 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Convolvulus cairicus L.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Convolvulus heptaphyllus Rottler & Willd.
Ipomoea heptaphylla Voigt
Ipomoea palmata Forssk.
Ipomoea pulchella Roth

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Angely, J. A. 1965. Flora analitica do Parana.
Austin, D. F. & Z. Huáman. 1996. A synopsis of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) in the Americas. Taxon 45:5.
Austin, D. F. 1996. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
Babu, C. R. 1977. Herbaceous flora of Dehra Dun.
Backer, C. A. & R. C. Bakhuizen van den Brink, Jr. 1963-1968. Flora of Java.
Beetle, A. A. 1970. Recommended plant names. Univ. Wyoming Agr. Exp. Sta. Res. J. 31
Berhaut, J. 1971-. Flore illustrée du Senegal.
Bhandari, M. M. 1978. Flora of the Indian desert.
Bond, P. & P. Goldblatt. 1984. Plants of the Cape Flora, J. S. African Bot. suppl. vol. 13.
Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
Cabrera, A. L. & E. M. Zardini. 1978. Manual de la flora de los alrededores de Buenos Aires.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Eriksson, O. et al. 1979. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 2.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Hara, H. et al. 1978-1982. An enumeration of the flowering plants of Nepal.
Hara, H. 1966-1975. Flora of eastern Himalaya Note: v. 1:1966, v. 2:1971, v. 3:1975
Harling, G. & B. Sparre, eds. 1973-. Flora of Ecuador.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Lejoly, J. & S. Lisowski. 1992. Les genres Merremia et Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) dans la flore d'Afrique Centrale (Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi). Fragm. Florist. Geobot. 37:115.
Li, H. L. et al., eds. 1975-1979. Flora of Taiwan.
Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. 1976. Hortus third. A concise dictionary of plants cultivated in the United States and Canada
Matthew, K. M. 1983. The flora of the Tamilnadu Carnatic.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
O'Donell, C. A. 1959. Convolvuláceas argentinas. Lilloa 29:128-134.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Ross, J. 1972. The flora of Natal.
Saldanha, C. J. & D. H. Nicolson. 1976. Flora of Hassan district.
Smitinand, T. & K. Larsen, eds. 1970-. Flora of Thailand.
Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
Steyermark, J. A. & O. Huber. 1978. Flora del Avila.
Steyermark, J. A. 1977. Flora of Missouri.
Täckholm, V. 1974. Students' flora of Egypt, ed. 2.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Walker, E. 1976. Flora of Okinawa and the southern Ryukyu Islands.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
Wunderlin, R. & B. Hansen. Atlas of Florida vascular plants (on-line resource).
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	Cairo morning-glory	1	Beetle, A. A. 1970. Recommended plant names. Univ. Wyoming Agr. Exp. Sta. Res. J. 31
English	coastal morning-glory	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	five-leaf morning-glory	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	mile-a-minute	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	mile-a-minute-vine	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	railroad-creeper	1	Austin, D. F. 1996. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
English	railway-creeper	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Arabic	sitt el-hosn	2	Boulos, L. 1999-. Flora of Egypt
Japanese Rōmaji	momiji-hirugao	2	Iwatsuki, K. et al. 1993-. Flora of Japan.
Transcribed Chinese	wu zhao jin long	2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Cabo Verde
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Eritrea			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Ethiopia			Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Malawi			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Botswana			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Yemen			Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Fujian Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Guangdong Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Hainan Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Yunnan Sheng		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Ryukyu Islands		Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Jordan			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Nepal			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Papua New Guinea			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
1	Native	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand			Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
2	Cultivated					also cult.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Solomon Islands			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Malta			Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		Wunderlin, R. & B. Hansen. Atlas of Florida vascular plants (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California		Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Northwestern Pacific	Micronesia			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	South-Central Pacific	French Polynesia			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Fiji			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	New Caledonia			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Tonga			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Austin, D. F. & Z. Huáman. 1996. A synopsis of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) in the Americas. Taxon 45:5.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Honduras			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana			Austin, D. F. & Z. Huáman. 1996. A synopsis of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) in the Americas. Taxon 45:5.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
6	Other					exact native range obscure

Native
Africa

MACARONESIA: Cabo Verde
NORTHERN AFRICA: Egypt
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Botswana, Eswatini, South Africa

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Yemen
WESTERN ASIA: Israel, Jordan
CHINA: China [Fujian Sheng, Guangdong Sheng, Guangxi Zhuangzu Zizhiqu, Hainan Sheng, Yunnan Sheng]
EASTERN ASIA: Japan [Ryukyu Islands], Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan
PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea
INDO-CHINA: Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines

Australasia

NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Cultivated (also cult.)
Naturalized
Asia-Tropical

PAPUASIA: Solomon Islands

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia

Europe

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Malta

Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida, Louisiana]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [California]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Oaxaca]

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Micronesia
SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: French Polynesia
SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji, New Caledonia, Tonga

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Jamaica
CENTRAL AMERICA: Honduras
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Guyana, Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

Other (exact native range obscure)

Reference(s)

Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Austin, D. F. & Z. Huáman. 1996. A synopsis of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) in the Americas. Taxon 45:5.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Greuter, W. et al., eds. 1984-. Med-Checklist.
Hedberg, I. & S. Edwards. 1989-. Flora of Ethiopia Note: Eritrea added in 2000
Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California
Hnatiuk, R. J. 1990. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11.
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Wood, J. R. I. 1997. A handbook of the Yemen flora.
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
Wunderlin, R. & B. Hansen. Atlas of Florida vascular plants (on-line resource).
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Environmental	ornamental	Encke, F. et al. 1984. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 13. Auflage
Environmental	ornamental	Huxley, A., ed. 1992. The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening
Environmental	ornamental	Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Medicines	folklore	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition). Note: with two varieties
Medicines	folklore	Austin, D. F. 1996. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
Weed		Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Weed		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=20148. Accessed 11 May 2026.