Ipomoea nil

Simões, A. R., Silva, H. & Silveira, P., 2011, The Convolvulaceae of Timor with special reference to East Timor, Blumea 56 (1), pp. 49-72 : 60

12. Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth — Map 9

Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth (1797) 36; Ooststr. (in Ooststr. & Hoogland 1953) 465; Kalkman (1955) 216.

Convolvulus nil L. (1762) 219.

Ipomoea setosa Blume (1826) 714; Span. (1841) 340.

Pharbitis nil (L.) Choisy (1834) 439; Decne. (1834) 388; Span. (1841) 338. Ipomoea trichocalyx Steud. (1840) 819; Miq. (1856) 611; Fawc. (1885) 511. Ipomoea hederacea auct. non Jacq. (1787) 124, pl. 36; Fawc. (1885) 511.

Distribution — Pantropical; native in America and introduced in Asia in the16th century ( Austin 1986).

Habitat & Ecology — In waysides, hedges, thickets and grasslands, from sea level to 1 300 m (Van Ooststroom & Hoogland 1953).

Vernacular name — Hiluk talin pana (unknown dialect).

Uses — The seeds are said to be purgative. The plant is cultivated in gardens for ornamental purposes (Van Ooststroom & Hoogland 1953). In Timor, used as a remedy for wounds, and in the preparation of black paint (Friedberg 412).

Note — A few specimens from Timor had been identified as I. hederacea Jacq. , but were revised for this study and reidentified as I. nil . The two species can be told apart mainly by the shape of the sepals: in I. hederacea they constrict abruptly and then taper towards the tip, whereas in I. nil they taper gradually ( Heine 1963, Acevedo-Rodriguez 2003, Hawthorne & Jongkind 2006). This is not always easily observed, especially in herbarium specimens, which has caused some confusion between the two species.