Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq.

Simões, A. R., Silva, H. & Silveira, P., 2011, The Convolvulaceae of Timor with special reference to East Timor, Blumea 56 (1), pp. 49-72 : 59

11. Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq.

Ipomoea mauritiana Jacq. (1791) 216; Ooststr. (1972) 941.

Ipomoea paniculata R.Br. (1810) 486,auct.non Burm.f.(1768);Span.(1841) 340.

Ipomoea digitata auct. non L. (1759) 924; Fawc. (1885) 511; Ooststr. (in Ooststr. & Hoogland 1953) 483; Kalkman (1955) 216.

Distribution — Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Philippines, Pacific Islands, Japan (Ogasawara and Ryukyu Islands) ( Fang & Staples 1995).

Habitat & Ecology — In thickets on the beach, but also in the interior, in waste places, thickets, hedges, savannah-forests, teak-forests, alang-alang fields, and along waysides; also cultivated; from sea level to 700 m (Van Ooststroom & Hoogland 1953).

Vernacular name — Laluli (Timor: unknown dialect) (Van Ooststroom & Hoogland 1953).

Uses — The leaves and roots are used externally for treating tuberculosis, as well as external and breast infections ( Fang & Staples 1995). The root alone is pounded and applied for swellings (Peninsular Malaysia); moreover it is said to be cathartic (Van Ooststroom & Hoogland 1953). The plant is also cultivated for ornamental purposes.