Jepson Herbarium
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Indexes to all accepted names and synonyms: | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |

Annual, perennial herb, subshrub, generally twining or trailing.
Leaf: 0 or alternate.
Inflorescence: cyme or flowers 1 in axils; bracts subtending flowers 0 or 2.
Flower: bisexual, radial; sepals (4)5, ± free, overlapping, persistent, often unequal; corolla generally showy, generally bell-shaped, ± shallowly 5-lobed, generally pleated and twisted in bud; stamens 5, epipetalous; pistil 1, ovary superior, chambers generally 2, each generally 2-ovuled, styles 1–2.
Fruit: generally capsule.
Seed: 1–4(6).
55–60 genera, 1600–1700 species: warm temperate to tropics; some cultivated for food or as ornamental (Ipomoea). [Stefanovic et al. 2003 Syst Bot 28:791–806] Monophyletic only if Cuscutaceae included, as treated here. Ipomoea cairica (L.) Sweet, Ipomoea hederacea Jacq. [Ipomoea nil L., misappl.], Ipomoea indica (Burm.) Merr. (including Ipomoea mutabilis Ker Gawl.), Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth, Ipomoea triloba L., all included in TJM (1993), not naturalized. —Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Unabridged references: [Angiosperm Phylogeny Group 1998 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 85:531–553; Stefanovic et al. 2002 Amer J Bot 89:1510–1522]

Key to Convolvulaceae

Vine, annual (per if on perennial host), not in contact with ground, attached to, holoparasitic on host by many small, specialized roots (haustoria) along stem, generally glabrous.
Stem: thread-like, ± green, yellow, orange, or ± red.
Leaf: 0 or scale-like, alternate, ± 2 mm.
Inflorescence: generally cyme, head- to panicle-like ( flowers 1), subtended by 0–3 bracts.
Flower: bisexual, radial, parts generally in 4s or 5s; calyx generally divided 2/5–3/5, persistent generally ± cream-white; corolla generally ± white, persistent (withered in fruit) or not, tube cup-shaped to cylindric, bulged or horizontally ridged below lobes or generally not, generally with scales subtending stamens, lobes alternate stamens, erect to reflexed; ovary superior, chambers 2, each 2-ovuled, styles 2, generally free, persistent, stigmas 2, generally spheric, persistent.
Fruit: capsule, generally indehiscent to irregularly dehiscent (or circumscissile near base), spheric to ovoid, depressed or not, thickened and/or raised around generally inconspicuous opening between styles or not.
Seed: 1–4; coat papillate when hydrated, honeycombed when dry, (rarely neither, with cells ± rectangular, in ± jigsaw-puzzle-like arrangement); embryo generally slender, 1–3-coiled.
± 180 species: cosmopolitan, especially warmer regions of W. Hemisphere and Polynesia. (Aramaic, Hebrew; to cover, from habit) [Costea & Stefanovic 2009 Syst Bot 34:570–579] By persistent, withered corolla, fruit may be "capped" (corolla on top of fruit), "surrounded" (fruit at least in part visible, corolla ± loosely around fruit), or "enclosed" (fruit not visible, corolla ± tightly around fruit). Cuscuta pentagona Engelm. excluded.
Unabridged etymology: (Aramaic, Hebrew; from the verb K-S-Y (Kaph, Shin, Yodh), to cover, from habit)
Unabridged references: [Costea et al. 2005 Brittonia 57:264–272; Costea et al. 2006 Sida 22:151–175, 177–195, 197–207, 209–225; Costea & Stefanovic 2009. Cuscuta jepsonii (Convolvulaceae), an invasive weed or an extinct endemic? Amer J Bot 96:1744–1750; Costea et al. 2009. Untangling the systematics of salt marsh dodders: Cuscuta pacifica a new segregate species from Cuscuta salina (Convolvulaceae). Syst Bot 34:787–795; Costea & Stefanovic. 2009. Molecular phylogeny of Cuscuta californica complex (Convolvulaceae) and a new species from New Mexico and Trans-Pecos. Syst Bot 34:570–579; Costea & Tardif 2006 Canad J Plant Sci 86:293–316]

Inflorescence: umbel- to ± head-like, flowers 2–17; pedicels 0.5–2 mm.
Flower: 3.5–6 mm, membranous, papillate or not, parts in 5s; calyx generally = corolla tube, bell- to cup-shaped, generally divided 1/3, not veined, not shiny, lobes ovate-triangular, bases ± overlapped, margins entire, tip acute to acuminate; corolla tube 1.5–2.6 mm, bell-shaped, scales 1/2–2/3 corolla tube, oblong, rounded, short- fringed, lobes spreading to erect, generally = tube, widely ovate, margins entire, tip acute to acuminate, straight; filaments 0.3–0.6 mm, anthers included, 0.35–0.5 mm, widely elliptic to ± round; styles 0.4–1 mm, generally < ovary.
Fruit: 2–3.6 mm, 1.4–2.1 mm wide, elliptic-ovoid, ± thickened, ± raised around opening between styles, not translucent, surrounded or capped by corolla.
Seed: 1–2, 1.45–1.95 mm, 1.25–1.43 mm wide, ± spheric to widely elliptic. [Online Interchange]

Flower: pedicels, calyx not papillate.
2n=30. Generally on Salicornia, Jaumea in coastal salt marshes, tidal flats; generally 0 m. North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast;

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Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) [year] Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html [accessed on month, day, year]
Citation for an individual treatment: [Author of taxon treatment] [year]. [Taxon name] in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, [URL for treatment]. Accessed on [month, day, year].

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Bioregions in which taxon occurs	Red area (if present) is the part of the bioregion lying between the upper and lower elevation limits of the taxon; markers link to CCH specimen records. If the markers are obscured, reload the page [or change window size and reload]. Yellow markers indicate records that may provide evidence for eFlora range revision or may have georeferencing or identification issues.
Chart based on elevation range in Manual and elevations and coordinates of CCH records. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. Note: About half of the CCH records include both elevation and coordinates.	Map made in collaboration with Scott Loarie. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria. View all CCH records   CCH collections by month Duplicates counted once; synonyms included. Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa. Blue line denotes Manual flowering time.