Ipomoea acanthocarpa (Choisy) Hochst. ex Schweinf. & Asch., Beitr. Fl. Aethiop.

Ipomoea acanthocarpa (Choisy) Hochst. ex Schweinf. & Asch., Beitr. Fl. Aethiop. View in CoL 277. 1867. Calonyction acanthocarpum Choisy, Prodr. 9: 346. 1845. Type: SUDAN, s.l., s.d., C.G.T. Kotschy 269, (holo P00434126 digital image!; iso K000097123 digital image!). FiGS. 1 View FiG & 2 View FiG

Perennial climbers with milky latex, c. 5 m long. Stems twinning, angular, rooting at nodes, tuberculate, brownish when mature; branches hairy at the base. Leaves 5–10 × 6–12 cm, entire, glabrous, cordate at base, acuminate at apex; margins entire or undulate; veins distinct on both surfaces. Petioles 6–12 cm long, tubercled at base, glabrous. Cymes monochasial, axillary, usually 1–5-flowered; peduncles 2–5 cm long, swollen at tip, hairy at base. Pedicels 0.6–1 cm long, elongated in fruit, slightly tubercled, glabrous; bracts small, caducous, c. 2 × 1 mm, with distinct veins, glabrous. Sepals 5, sub-equal, 0.6–1 × 0.4– 0.8 cm, faintly veined; outer two sepals verrucate, brownish green, smaller; inner three sepals slightly larger than outer, smooth, papery along margins, glabrous. Corolla 5-lobed, 2–3 cm long, funnel-shaped; tube c. 1.5–2 cm long, dark purple inside; lobes c. 2 cm long, apiculate, glabrous, mid-petaline bands pink-purple, shallowly apiculate. Stamens 5; filaments sub-equal, 5–8 mm long, included, attached at c. 2 mm above the base of tube, hairy at base; anthers c. 0.3 cm long, basifixed. Ovary ovoid, c. 3 × 1 mm, glabrous, 4-locular, one ovule in each locule; style c. 6 mm long, slender, gradually narrowed towards the apex, glabrous; stigma c. 0.2 × 0.1 cm, bilobed. Capsules sub-globose to ovoid, 9–10 mm long, glabrous, brownish, 4-valved, mucronate with persistent stylar beak; stylar beak c. 7 mm long, with spinous apex; seeds 4, c. 5.5 mm long, grey, pilose at margins.

Flowering & fruiting: October–March.

Habitat: Along roadsides usually in muddy soil along with I. triloba L. and I. muricata (L.)Jacq. During the present investigation 60–70 individuals were observed in a single population.

Distribution: Tropical Africa, now in India.

Specimen examined: INDIA, Gujarat, Valsad district, Makadban Village , 04.10.2017, Kattee & Shimpale 1404, 1405 (The New College Herbarium, SUK!) .

Ipomoea laxiflora H.J.Chowdhery & Debta, Indian J. Forest. View in CoL 32(1): 120. 2009. Singh et al., Indian J. Forestry 34(3): 335-338. 2011. Type: INDIA, Uttarakhand, Dehra Dun district , Kaulagarh Road , Botanical Survey of India Campus , 750 m, 28.09.2008. H.J. Chowdhery 108601 (holo BSD!; iso CAL0000018586 About CAL !). FiGS. 3 View FiG & 4 View FiG

Annual climbers, up to 5 m. long; stems purplish green, quadrangular, sparsely hairy at nodes. Leaves variable, simple, entire, 5–12 × 5–10 cm, glabrous, distinctly trilobed; lobes shallow or sharp; petioles c. 12 cm long, glabrous. Cymes lax, 3–7-flowered; peduncles 6–8 cm long, slightly verrucose, swollen at apex; pedicels 2.5–3 mm long, quadrangular, glabrous, elongated in fruits. Bracts linear, caducous, c. 3–4 mm long. Calyx 5, sub-equal, 0.8–1 × 0.2–0.3 cm, faintly veined, purplish at apex, glabrous. Corolla funnel-shaped, c. 1.5 × 1.2 cm; limb 5-lobed; lobes apiculate. Stamens 5; filaments unequal, included, 0.7–0.8 cm long, hairy at base. Ovary c. 1 × 1.5 mm, glabrous; style c. 1 cm long; stigma unlobed or 2-lobed. Capsules ovoid, c. 5 × 6 mm, 4-valved, with purple tinge when young, glabrous; seeds c. 4 × 4 mm, brownish-black, glabrous.

Flowering & fruiting: September–October.

Distribution: India. Specimens examined: INDIA, Maharashtra, Kolhapur district, Ichalkaranji, 02.10.2016, Kattee & Shimpale 1541, 1542, 1543; Gadchiroli district, Gadchiroli, 15.10.2016, Kattee & Shimpale 1544, 1545 (The New College Herbarium!, SUK!).

Notes: This species is close to I. triloba , a wide spread species, the differences between them are given in Table 1. The specimens collected from Maharashtra state show variation in leaf size, inflorescence (from solitary to 5–7-flowered) and stigma slightly bilobed.