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Ipomoea purga

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A plant from Knowplant.com.


Drawing from Kohler's Medicinal Plants 1887.

Author:  Georg Wilhelm Franz Wenderoth, 1833
Family:  CONVOLVULACEAE
Origin:  Central Mexico
Soil:  Mix
Water:  Medium
Sun:  Medium
Thickness:  9 Centimetres
Height:  4 Metres
Flower:  Pink - Purple
Propagate:  Seeds
Names:  Jalap, Jalape, Jalapa
Synonyms:  Convolvulus purga, Georg Wilhelm Franz Wenderoth, 1830.
Exogonium purgum
, Georg Wilhelm Franz Wenderoth, 1840.
Batatas purga, Peterm.
Convolvulus officinalis, G.Pelletan.
Convolvulus schiedeanus, D.Dietr.
Ipomoea jalapa, Nutt.
Ipomoea schiedeana, Zucc.

This member of the Convolvulaceae family was given this name by Georg Wilhelm Franz Wenderoth in 1833. It is found in the central Mexico, growing in a slightly rich but well drained soil with some water and some sun. The caudex can grow to nine centimetres in diameter and around fifteen centimetres long. The vines can reach four meters, and the flowers are bright pink to purple.

The generic name Ipomoea is derived from the Greek ἴψ, ἰπός; íps, ipós, meaning 'woodworm', and ὅμοιος; hómoios, meaning 'resembling'. It referring to their twining habit.  The species name mean 'purging'. Might be the effect of eating the root, which contains convolvulin, which is a powerful cathartic. It is used to prevent diarrhea, but large amounts will induce vomiting.


The flower and leaf by Pedro Tenorio Lezama, Conabio.gob.mx.