Brittonia, 42(2), 1990, pp. 116-120.

Oc 1990, by the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458-312ts

CHANGES AND ADDITIONS IN IPOMOEA SECTION BATATAS

(CONVOLVULACEAE)

J. REw MCDONALD AND DANIEL F. AUSTIN

McDonald, J. Andrew (Department of Botany, University of Texas, Austin,

TX 78712) and Daniel F. Austin (Department of Biological Sciences, Florida
Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33431). Changes and additions in
Ipomoea section Batatas (Convolvulaceae). Brittonia 42: 116-120. 1990—A
new species, Ipomoea tabascana, is described from Mexico, and the
combination I. batatas var. apiculata is made for plants endemic to Veracruz.
Comments on the alliance of I. umbraticola with the section Baratas are given.

During 1987 the authors met in Xalapa, Mexico, and discussed their indepen-
dent research programs on the genus Ipomoea L. Subsequently, the second
author was able to visit living populations of the taxa treated here, and the
following comments represent the conclusions we have drawn from both field
and herbarium studies.
Although Ipomoea section Batatas has been described before (Ooststroom,
1953; Austin, 1978), a diagnosis is provided here to help with the following
discussion.

I ouOEA SECTION BATATAS (Choisy) Griseb.

Annual or perennial habit, stems herbaceous or sparingly lignescent at the
base. Leaves petiolate, blades cordate, pandurate or 3—7 lobed, glabrous or
appressed pubescent. Inflorescences pedunculate umbellate cymes, flowers rarely
solitary; flower buds conical, often acute; sepals membranous and often
somewhat cori- aceous in the medial regions, ovate to lanceolate, acute to obtuse,
the margins ciliate or glabrous, hyaline, bearing one central main vein, with or
without sec- ondary veins; corolla limb a distinctive lavender color, the throat
with dark purple pigmentation; stamen filaments pubescent at the base only or
along most of their length; capsules brown, chartaceous, pubescent or glabrous;
seeds dark brown to black, 3—5 mm long, glabrous or rarely with marginal
tríchomes.
In order to place the following taxa within the latest key to the section Batatas
(Austin, 1978), an amended key is presented below.
Mature stems alate; corolla 3.5-6 cm long; sepals broadly elliptic or orbicular; seeds marginally
finely white-pubescent...........................................................................................I. umbraticola
Mature stems never alate; corolla less than 3.5 cm long, or if longer, the sepals narrowly elliptic
to lanceolate, seeds glabrous . ......_.........................._........_................ ...._................. ...._.........................g.
g. Leaves sagittate, the basal lobes acute to acuminate; blades glabrous or pubescent.
h. Sepals pubescent; corolla 3 5 mm long; leaves usually evenly covered with trichomes
e stems devoid of adventitious roots; plants of S nd‘
a d h GreaJe An jue issima
hh. Sepa y 'b‘ t o S á e '' ‘a ’
Ie bÍ e ng dventong.s ales; pabntu fMb $h ta ascana

Ipomoea tabascana McDonald & Austin, sp. nov. (Fig. 1)

Inter species sectionis Batatas /. tenuissimae Choisy foliis sagittatis accedens, sed ab ea caulibus
e nodis radicantibus, sepalis glabris, necnon corollis brevioribus et latioribus diversa.
Slender, herbaceous, perennial vines. Stems twining over shrubs and other
plants or growing prostrate on the ground, rooting at the nodes when prostrate,
mostly 2—3 m long, l—l .5 mm diam, green, glabrous or with scattered
glandular
1990] McDONALD & AUSTIN: IPOMOEA 117

1cm

1cm

Fíc. 1. Ipomoea tabascana McDonald & Austin. A. Habit. B. Flower detail. (From Austin and De
La Puente 7505.)

trichomes; roots perennial, to 1.5 cm diam, with smaller secondary roots. Leaves
simple, persistent, petiolate; lamina markedly sagittate, 2.5-9.5 cm long, the ter-
minal lobe 2—7 cm long, 2—4 mm wide, glabrous, the margins entire, the apex
acute to acuminate, mucronate, the basal lobes divergent, 1.5—2 cm long, 2-3
mm wide; venation pinnate; petiole terete, 1.5-2 cm long, 0.5—1 mm diam,
glabrous or more commonly with glandular trichomes concentrated near the
apex. Inflo- rescence cymose, the first branching dichasial, the second
monochasial; flowers 2-5; peduncles axillary and terminal, the primary peduncle
terete, 2—3 cm long, 1-1.5 mm diam, the secondary peduncles similar, 6-7 mm
long, ca l mm diam, subtended by linear bracteoles, 2 mm long and up to 1 mm
wide, glabrous; pedicels 8-12 mm long, 0.5—1 mm diam, green, smooth,
glabrous; bracts linear, 2—3 mm long; sepals unequal, imbricate, pale green,
drying tan to brown, the outer oblong, 7-8 mm long, 2—3 mm wide,
membranous, glabrous, the margins entire, scarious, the apices obtuse, caudate,
the inner obovate, membranous, glabrous, the margins entire, 8—9 mm long, 4-
4.5 mm wide, acute, short caudate; corolla funnelform,
118 BMTTONIA VOL. 42

3—3.5 cm long, the tube lavender, 1.5 cm long, 6-10 mm diam, dilating gradually,
the buds convolute-duplicate, glabrous; the limb 5-lobate, lavender, 2.5—3 cm
wide, glabrous; stamens unequal, included, white, 12—15 mm long, the hlaments
fused to the base of the corolla tube, glandular pubescent on the basal angles, the
anthers 3—4 mm long; ovary ovoid, glabrous, the style 16—17 mm long, exceeding
the stamens, capitate, 2-globose, white; nectary dark yellow. Fruit a capsule,
brown, ovoid, 4—5 mm long, 2-locular, 4-valvular, dehiscent, chartaceous, gla-
brous; mature seeds not seen.
TYPE' MEXICO. TABASCo: S limit of Ejido Lopez Zamora, marsh and cutover
forest area, 16 Oct 1987, D. F. Austin & F. De La Puente 7505 (HOLOTYPE! US!;
ISOTYPEs: Centro Internacional de la Papa, Lima, Peru!, FAU!, XAL!).
Although similar to Ipomoea tenuissima Choisy of the West Indies and
Florida, our collection from Tabasco, Mexico, exhibits several distinctive traits.
Most obviously, the stems and sepals are glabrous in f. tabascana (Fig. l), while
they are markedly pubescent in Z. tenuissima. Adventitious roots occur at nodes
of prostrate stems in I. tabascana, but are lacking on the twining or prostrate
stems of I. tenuissima that frequently come into contact with the ground. Also,
the corolla of I. tabascana is shorter and broader than in I. tenuissima. Ipomoea
tabascana inhabits marshy sites in tropical regions, while Z. tenuissima generally
occurs on relatively drier, limestone substrates in pinelands.
Ipomoea tabascana might also be confused with the more distantly related f.
sagittata Poir. This member of section Eriospermum H. Hallier is easily
separated by the woolly pubescent seeds and the markedly longer corollas (4-6
cm long).

Ipomoea batatas var. apiculata (Martens & Galeotti) McDonald & Austin,
comb. et stat. nov.
Ipomoea apiculata Martens & Galeotti, Bull. Acad. Roy. Sci. Bruxelles 12: 262. 1845. TYPE: MEX-
ICO. Vrmceuz: Galeotti 1381 (HOLOTYPE: BR!; isoT rz: P!, PHOTO F!).
Ipomoea vulsa House, Muhlenbergia 3: 45. 1907. Tvrx: MEXICO. VzmcnUz: ca Orizaba (?), in
1855, Mueller s.n. (HOLOTYPE: US!).

Slender, herbaceous, perennial vines. Stems mostly prostrate but some twining
at tips, rooting at nodes, glabrous. Leaves simple, petiolate; lamina somewhat
fleshy, broadly ovate to cordate in outline, 1.5—5 cm long, mostly 3-lobed, the
middle lobe 1—3 cm long, 5—10 mm wide, the apex mostly obtuse, mucronulate,
the lateral lobes narrower and shorter, the base cordate; petiole terete, 1—2 cm
long, 0.5—1 mm diam, glabrous. Inflorescence cymose but often reduced to 2
flowers; peduncle terete, 2—3 cm long; pedicels 1—1.5 cm long, green, smooth,
glabrous; bracts squamiform; sepals unequal, imbricate, pale green but drying tan
to brown, the outer shorter than the inner, oblong, 3—5 mm long, 2—2.5 mm wide,
membranous, glabrous, the margins entire, scarious, the apices obtuse, caudate,
the inner 8-9 mm long, 4—5 mm wide, obovate, short caudate, glabrous; corolla
funnelform, 3—3.5 cm long, the tube lavender, 1.5—2 cm long, 8-15 mm diam,
dilating gradually, the buds convolute-duplicate, glabrous; the limb 5-lobed, lav-
ender, 3—3.5 cm wide, glabrous; stamens unequal, included, white, l 5-17 mm
long, the filaments fused to the base of the corolla tube, glandular pubescent at
base, the anthers white, sagittate, 3 mm long, 1—1.5 mm wide; nectary dark yellow;
ovary globose, 1.5 mm diam, minutely setose at apex, the trichomes ascending,
the style l 1—13 mm long, white, the stigma white, capitate, bilobed, l mm diam.
Fruit a capsule, indehiscent, chartaceous, glabrous; seeds often l but sometimes
2, brown.
The type specimen lacks a collection number, and may have mistakenly been
reported from Orizaba, as Mueller collected at both the Port of Veracruz and
1990] McDONALD & AUSTfN( IPOMOEA 119

orizaba. Our extensive fíeldwork in the state of Veracruz tums up this ecotype
of J. baratas only near the Port of Veracruz.
Ipomoea baratas var.fruits
batatas
apiculata is distinguished from wild forms of var.
(with a suture that breaks under pressure) that
by indehiscent
usually include pply one or tWO seeds (the remaining 2 or 3 ovules aborting),
somewhat succulent icaves, and the propensity to root at each node of the trailing
stems. Wild pop- ulations of Z. batatas, unlike those recently escaped from
cultivation, generally
have
twiningdehiscent fruits bearing 4 seeds, chartaceous to coriaceous leaves, and
and climbing stems that lack adventitious roots at most nodes. The above dis-
tinguishing characteristics of I. batatas var. apiculata can be reasonably
attributed to the unique habitat in which these populations occur; most of the
plants as- sociated with Z. baratas var. apiculata on the dunes near Veracruz
also bear succulent leaves and decumbent stems rooting at nodes. The
indehiscent fruits, an otherwise uncommon character in Ipomoea, might be
important for seed dispersal of these littoral populations, as we have floated their
fruits in water for several days without observing them to sink. Seeds are still
viable after being in sait water for seven days. Nonetheless, the variety does not
apparently disperse well since it is restricted to a limited region along the coast
of Veracruz.
The fact that some of the distinguishing characteristics ofthis new varíety appear
occasionally in domesticated sweet potato populations (e.g., stems prostrate,
most nodes with adventitious roots, leaves with deep sinuses) suggests that these
pop- ulations should be of interest to investigators of the poorly understood
origins of the sweet potato, and to plant breeders interested in introducing traits
from non- cultivated species into cultivated sweet potatoes.
Representative specimens studied: MEXICO. Vrnncnuz: Austin et al. 7d80 (Centro
Internacional de la Papa, Lima, Peru; FAU); McDonald 2429 (TEX).

ÍPOMOEA UMBRATICOrA House

Ipomoea umbraticola House, Ann. New York Acad. Sci. 18: 259. 1908. TvPE: COSTA RICA:
Nicoya, in 1900, Tonduz J 3677 (HOLOTYPE: NY!; iSOTYPE' US!).

Robust, twining, herbaceous or lignescent at base, annual vines. Stems

twining, terete, to 6 m long, 2-5 mm diam, smooth, somewhat striate and
frequently alate on mature growth, green or purple-pigmented, glabrous. Leaves
simple, persistent, petiolate; lamina ovate or rarely subtrilobate, 4.3-10.5 cm
long, 2.5-7.5 cm wide, membranous, glabrous, the margins entire, the apex acute
or subacuminate, mu- cronate; basally cordate or auriculate, the basal lobes 4—
16 mm long, 0.9-3.8 cm wide; venation pinnate; petioles terete, 1—6 cm long,
0.5—1 mm diam, glabrous. Inflorescence a corymbiform cyme, the hrst
branching dichasial, followed by monochasial branching; flowers 3-9; primary
peduncle terete, 37-100 mm long, 1.5—3 mm diam, green, alate or smooth,
glabrous; secondary peduncle similar, 6-17 mm long, ca 1 mm diam, subtended
by squamose bracteoles about 1 mm long and wide; pedicles erect, 7-15 mm
long, 1—2 mm diam, dilated at the apex, green, smooth or striate, glabrous;
sepals subequal or unequal, imbrícate, pale green or drying to pale tan, the outer
shorter than the inner, elliptic, orbicular, obovate to ovate, frequently
subcochleate, 4—11 mm long, 3—6 mm wíde, mem- branous, glabrous, the
margins entire, scarious, the apices acute, obtuse or emar- ginate, occasionally
minutely apiculate; corolla infundibular, 3.5—6 cm long, the tlibe lavender, 2.5
—4 cm long, 8—13 mm diam, dilating gradually, the buds con- Volute-
duplicate, glabrous; the limb sublobate, scarcely 10-lobate, lavender, 5—6 Cm
wide, glabrous; stamens unequal, included, white, 1.5-3.5 cm long, the fila-
ments fused to the base of the corolla tube, glandular-pubescent; the style white,
120 BMTTONlA VOL. 42

exceeding the stamens, 2.5—4 cm long, glabrous; stigma lavender, capitate, bilo-
bate. Capsule, brown, subconical, 7—9 mm long and wide at base, 2-locu1ar, 4-
valvular, dehiscent, chartaceous, glabrous; seeds 4, black, rotund, triangular, 3—4
mm long and wide, the lateral angles with fine white trichomes 5-7 mm long,
deciduous.
Ipomoea umbraticola superficially resembles elements of subgenus Eriosper-
sam (hairy-seeded perennials), since the species bears seeds with white, long
indumentum on the lateral seed margins. However, the species presents other
traits uncharacteristic of subgenus Eriospermum such as an annual habit, her-
baceous stems, and seed trichomes that are very fine and deciduous. Indeed,
House (1908) originally described the seeds as glabrous, presumably because the
trichomes had already fallen. Ipomoea umbraticola shares many characteristics
with the section Batatas, especially those of the sepals, though the species was
not included in the most recent revision (Austin, 1978). The pubescent dlaments
may suggest close alliance with both Z. batatas and Z. tiliacea (Willd.) Choisy in
DC. The presence of trichomes along the seed margins we interpret as representing
the vestiges of a primitive character, linking the Batatas complex directly to the
presumably primitive subgenus Eriospermum (Austin, 1979, 1980). Although the
section was circumscribed to include only plants with “glabrous or sparsely pu-
bescent seeds” (Austin, 1978), we now amend the concept to include I. umbraticola
with marginally or laterally pubescent seeds.
Ipomoea umbraticola is currently thought to be endemic to Mexico and
Middle America, having been collected in Guerrero, Chiapas, Campeche, and
Yucatan in Mexico to Belize, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.
Representative specimens studied: MEXICO. Cwrzcuc: Cabrera & Cabrera 6256 (MEXU); Ca-
brera ‹fi Cabrera 10942 (MEXU); Lundell 1123 (TEX). Ciua ro : McDonald 230 (TEX). Qimrrwn
Roo: Cabrera ‹f‹ Cabrera 4290 (MEXU). YUCATAN: Austin & De La Puente 7502 (Gcntro
Internacional de la Papa, Lima, Peru; FAU); Cabrera & Cabrera ?0708 (MEXU); Gaumer 1101 If,
GH); Sanabaria & Stma 323 (XAL). NICARAGUA. ESTELI: Stevens 16067b (MO). Gnnirmz: M.
Araquistain & P. Moreno 543 (MO). Mnoniz: Stevens 16388 (MO). Merecex: Nissen 10 (MO).
Mnsnva: S!tevens 5253 (MO). COSTA RICA. NICOYA: Tonduz 13677' (NY, US).

Acknowledgments
The second author wishes to thank the Centro Internacional de la Papa (CIP),
Lima, Peru, and the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Re-
search Station, Experiment, Georgia, for financial support. We thank Rocio Ji-
menez, Curator at XAL, INIREB, Xalapa, Veracruz, for allowing us access to
their extensive collections of the Mexican flora. Dr. Juventino Contreras,
INIFAP, Veracruz, provided able assistance with both local support and field
study. Dr. Fermin De La Puente, CIP, organized the trip with the second author.
Ms. Pe- nelope N. Honychurch made the drawing.

Literature Cited
Austin, D. F. 1978. The Ipomoea batatas complex. I. Taxonomy. Bull. Torrey Bot. Gub 105: 114-
129.
1979. Comments on infrageneric taxonomy in fpomoea. Taxon 28: 359—361.
1980. Additional comments on infrageneric taxonomy in Ipomoea. Taxon 29: 501-502.
House, H. D. 1908. The North American species of the genus Ipomoea. Ann. New York Acad. Sci.
18: 181—264.
Ooststroom, S. J. van. 1953. Convolvulaceae. in. C. G. G. J. van Steenis. Flora Malesiana ser. 1,
4: 388-512.