Menu list goes here

Herbal Database Search Results

Back to: Pathways Main Search Page For Metaphysical uses visit The Witchs Haven

Ipomoea nil

Common name:	Japanese Morning Glory	Family:	Convolvulaceae
Author:	(L.)Roth.	Botanical references:	200, 266
Synonyms:	Pharbitis nil ((L.)Choisy.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Pantropical.
Habitat:	Thickets on mountain slopes, waysides, fields and hedges from sea level to 1600 metres in China[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Convolvulus hederaceus[B,P] Convolvulus nil[B,G,P] I. hederacea[B] I. nil var. limbata[G] Pharbitis limbata[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Teleng [E], White-edge Morning-glory [B], Whiteedge Morningglory [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Solanales. Morning-glory family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	China; India; Japan; Java
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Arizona.

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 5m at a fast rate. It is hardy to zone 9 and is frost tender. It is in flower from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Anthelmintic; Antifungal; Antispasmodic; Antitumor; Diuretic; Hallucinogenic; Laxative; Parasiticide.

The seed is anthelmintic, anticholinergic, antifungal, antispasmodic, antitumour, diuretic and laxative[176, 279]. It is used in the treatment of oedema, oliguria, ascariasis and constipation[176]. The seed is also used as a contraceptive in Korea[279].
The seed contains small quantities of the hallucinogen LSD[200, 219]. This has been used medicinally in the treatment of various mental disorders.
The pounded plant is used as a hair wash to rid the hair of lice[272].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a fertile well-drained loam in a sunny position[200].
The plant is not frost hardy, but can be grown outdoors as a tender annual in temperate zones[200].
A very ornamental plant, there are several named varieties[200].
Closely related to I. purpurea[260].

Propagation

Pre-soak the seed for 12 hours in warm water, or scarify the seed, and sow in individual pots in a greenhouse in early spring. The seed usually germinates in 1 - 3 weeks at 22°c. Plants are extremely resentful of root disturbance, even when they are quite small, and should be potted up almost as soon as they germinate[219]. Grow them on fast in the greenhouse and plant them out into their permanent positions after the last expected frosts. Consider giving them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing away actively.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Latin and Worldwide Common Names From Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database by M. H. Porcher et. al. 1995 - 2000 Landcare Systems Research Laboratory, Department of Crop Production,Institute of Land and Food Resources, The University of Melbourne, Australia.
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Pharbitis nil (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for the family Convolvulaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[176] Yeung. Him-Che. Handbook of Chinese Herbs and Formulas. Institute of Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles 1985
A very good Chinese herbal.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[219] Grey-Wilson. C. & Matthews. V. Gardening on Walls Collins 1983 ISBN 0-00-219220-0
A nice little book about plants for growing against walls and a small section on plants that can grow in walls.

[260] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Conservatory and Indoor Plants Volumes 1 & 2 Pan Books, London. 1998 ISBN 0-330-37376-5
Excellent photos of over 1,100 species and cultivars with habits and cultivation details plus a few plant uses. Many species are too tender for outdoors in Britain though there are many that can be grown outside.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

Morning Glory Website

Rich (michael@thewitchshaven.com) Tue Oct 24 09:27:47 2000

An interesting page from a Convolvulaceae enthusiast which features many pictures of the plants and a seed swap area. The page is at http://www.exoticplants.org.uk/.

Cross references: Plants: Calystegia japonica. Genera: Calystegia, Ipomoea, Convolvulus.

Main Search Page

Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Ipomoea+nil
This page (US) http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Ipomoea+nil

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
(You can copy, distribute, display this works but: Attribution is required, its for Non-Commercial purposes, and it's Share Alike (GNUish/copyleft) i.e. has an identical license.)
We also ask that you let us know (michael@thewitchshaven.com) if you link to, redistribute, make a derived work or do anything groovy with this information.

Home :: View Cart :: Shipping & Returns :: Contact Us :: Log In :: Privacy Policy :: Home :: Philosophy

We make no claims of magical effects or supernatural powers for any item in this catalog. In spite of legendary attributes or occult and craft tradition, such items are offered as curios only and beliefs concerning their magical effectiveness are related only for historical interest.