Flora of the Hawaiian Islands
Dicotyledon Literature for Ipomoea cairica
Wagner et al., 1990, 1999.
   Convolvulaceae -- The Dodder, Morning Glory Family Bibliography
      Ipomoea cairica

Common name(s): morning glory, ivy-leaved morning glory, koali, koali `ai, koali `ai`ai (Ni`ihau), koali lau manamana, kowali, pa`ali`i
General Information
DistributionNative to tropical Africa and Asia.In the Hawaiian Islands, naturalized on Ni`ihau, Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Kaho`olawe, Hawai`i.
















Habit
Vines; stems twining or sometimes prostrate, herbaceous but woody toward base, up to 4 m or more long, smooth or muricate, glabrous or rarely villous at nodes.
Leaves
Leaf blades chartaceous, ovate to orbicular in outline, 3-10 cm long and wide, palmately divided, usually to base into 5-7 lobes, the lobes lanceolate to ovate or elliptic, 3-5 cm long, apex acute or obtuse and mucronulate, outer lobes sometimes bifid, glabrous, petioles up to ca. 2/3 as long as blades, pseudostipules present.
Flowers
Flowers 1 to numerous in lax dichasia, peduncles 5-80 mm long, pedicels 12-30 mm long; sepals ovate, 4-6.5 mm long, outer ones slightly shorter, glabrous, ± verrucose, margins scarious, apex obtuse to acute, mucronulate; corolla purple, bluish purple, or white with a purple center, funnelform, (3-)4.5-6 cm long.
Fruit
Capsules brown, subglobose, 1-1.2 cm long, glabrous.
Seeds
Seeds black to tan, subglobose to ovoid, 4-6 mm long, densely short-tomentose, sometimes with long silky hairs along the margins.
Chromosomes
2n = 30