Ipomoea batatas

Simões, A. R., Silva, H. & Silveira, P., 2011, The Convolvulaceae of Timor with special reference to East Timor, Blumea 56 (1), pp. 49-72 : 58

4. Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. — Map 8

Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.(1792) 465;Span. (1841) 340; Ooststr. (in Ooststr. & Hoogland 1953) 469.

Convolvulus batatas L. (1753) 154.

Distribution — Throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres (Van Ooststroom & Hoogland 1953).

Habitat & Ecology — Cultivated in gardens by the houses; occasionally wild, escaped from cultivation; at low and medium altitudes (Van Ooststroom & Hoogland 1953).

Vernacular name — Sekal dila (Timor: unknown dialect).

Uses — Used for poulticing (Van Ooststroom & Hoogland 1953). Widely cultivated for its edible tubers, which are an important source of starch ( Fang & Staples 1995); the young shoots are also eaten as a salad (Van Ooststroom & Hoogland 1953). The stems and leaves can be used as livestock forage and the tubers are raw material for producing alcohol ( Fang & Staples 1995).

Figures

Map 8 Distribution of Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. ($), I. cairica (L.) Sweet (5), I. carnea Jacq. subsp. fistulosa (Mart. ex Choisy) D.F.Austin (:), I. decais­ nei Ooststr. (-) and I. hederifolia L. (0).