Scientific Name
Ipomoea aquatica Forsskal
Synonyms
Ipomoea natans Dinter & Suess., Ipomoea repens Roth, Ipomoea reptans Poir., Ipomoea sagittifolia Hochr., Ipomoea subdentata Miq. [1]
Vernacular Name
| Malaysia | Kangkong, kankung [2] |
| English | Kangkong, water convolvulus, water spinach, pond morning glory, potato vine, swamp cabbage, swamp morning glory, water convolvulus, water ipomoea, winter spinach [2][3] |
| China | Ong-tsai, ung-choi, ung-tsoi, yung-tsai, wang cai, weng cai [3] |
| Indonesia | Kangkung, kankong [2]; bungan kangkung (Bali)[3] |
| Thailand | Phakbung (General); phakthotyot (Central) [2] |
| Laos | Bôngz [2] |
| Philippines | Kangkong (Tagalog); balangog, galatgat (Ilocano) [2] |
| Cambodia | Trâkuön [2][3] |
| Vietnam | Rau mu[oos]ng [2] |
| Brunei | Kangkong [3] |
| Myanmar | Kan-swun [3] |
| Papua New Guinea | Kangkong, kango [2] |
| Benin | Amanamana, atoyoé, gfbessifla, wabala [3] |
| Congo | Metenga, motenga [3] |
| Ivory Coast | Alédan bliassou [3] |
| Kenya | Balanbal, bwere mlungu, chamarirobia [3] |
| Madagascar | Lalanda [3] |
| Mali | Bakorokofaraka [3] |
| Niger | Duman kada, talhana [3] |
| Nigeria | Duman rafi, yumbururu [3] |
| Sahara | Ban nama [3] |
| Sudan | Baforoko-faraka, malifito [3] |
| Tanzania | Ilando, lilando lyamwinyanza [3] |
| Togo | Aflame, ragtooga, waboba, yovofla [3] |
| France | Patate aquatique, liseron d’eau [2] |
Geographical Distributions
Ipomoea aquatica originated in tropical Asia (possibly India) and can be found in South and Southeast Asia, tropical Africa, South and Central America and Oceania. I. aquatica is an important leafy vegetable only in South and Southeast Asia. It is intensively grown and frequently eaten throughout Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and in southern China. [2]
Botanical Description
I. aquatica is a member of the Convolvulaceae family. It is an annual or perennial and fast-growing herb with smooth, succulent and hollow stems rooting at the nodes in a wet ground. [2]
The leaves are arranged alternately, with a long petiole, triangular or lance-shaped, measuring 2.5-15 cm x 0.5-10 cm and heart-shaped or hastate at the base. The petioles are green or purple. [2]
The flowers are borne singly or in clusters of 2-7 in the leaf axils, funnel-form, measure 4-7.5 cm long with a limb measures about 5 cm wide and with a magenta or purple throat, or pink, lavender or purple. [2]
The fruit is an ovoid capsule, measuring 7-9 mm in diametre, smooth, brown, cupped by the 5-lobed sepal and contains 2-4 seeds. [2]
The seed is angular to rounded, smooth or velvet, measures 4 mm long and black or light to dark brown. Seedling exhibits epigeal germination and with horseshoe-shaped cotyledons. [2]
Cultivation
I. aquatica is a quantitative short-day plant. It produces optimum yields in the lowland humid tropics, with stable high temperatures and short-day conditions. I. aquatica is a typical lowland vegetable. It is rarely grown above 700 m altitude because at average temperatures below 23°C, the growth rate is too slow to make it as an economic crop. At higher latitudes (North Thailand, North Vietnam, Hong Kong), it is mainly grown as a summer vegetable. Adapted to a wide range of soil conditions, I. aquatica has a relatively high soil moisture requirement and clay soils are generally suitable. Soils with a high level of organic material are preferable. The optimum pH is between 5.3 and 6.0. [2]
Chemical Constituent
No documentation
Plant Part Used
No documentation
Traditional Use
No documentation
Preclinical Data
No documentation
Clinical Data
No documentation
Poisonous Management
No documentation
Line Drawing
References
- The Plant List. Ver1.1. Ipomoea aquatica Forssk. [homepage on the Internet]. c2013 [updated 2012 Apr 18; cited 2015 June 24]. Available from: http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/tro-8500040
- Dibiyantoro ALH, Schmelzer GH. Ipomoea aquatica Forssk. In: van Valkenburg JLCH, Bunyapraphatsara N, editors. Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2. Leiden, Netherlands: Backhuys Publisher, 2001; p. 316
- Quattrocchi U. CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common names, scientific names, eponyms, synonyms, and etymology. Volume III E-L. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press; 2012. p. 577-578.