Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis
Past favourite plant finalist
Common names
beach morning glory
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Lianes & Related Trailing Plants - Dicotyledons
Flower colours
Red/Pink
Detailed description
Stout, tap-rooted, glabrous perennial scrambler. Stems numerous, prostrate, trailing up to 20 m long, rooting freely at nodes. Petiole stout, fleshy, erect, 110 mm or more long. Leaves 40-120(-170) x 35-120(-150) mm, broad-oblong to suborbicular, entire, thick, fleshy; base cuneate to truncate, apex emarginate or shallowly 2-lobed. Inflorescence 1-several-flowered; peduncles 30-150 mm long, stout, fleshy; pedicels 10-30 mm. Sepals 8-12 mm, unequal, ovate, obtuse. Corolla 30-50 x 40-55 mm, funnelform, pink with an irregular rose-band inside around the base of the limb. Stamens included. Capsule 20 mm diam., globose-ovoid. Seeds 2-4, tomentose, brown.
Similar taxa
None. Even when not in flower the large, dark green, fleshy, broad-oblong to suborbicular, entire, glossy leaves are unmistakeable.
Distribution
Indigenous. Abundant throughout the Pacific Ocean and in parts of Central America. Reaching its world southern limit in New Zealand. In New Zealand it is common on some of the Kermadec Islands, and is otherwise known only from an extant population at Te Paki, and a recent historic one near Waipapakauri at the southern end of the Ninety-mile beach.
Habitat
Usually a strict beach strand plant found along the high tide mark growing in driftwood or at the base of foredunes. On the Kermadecs it has also been recorded growing along the rim of active fumaroles (Sykes 1970).
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: CI, RR, SO
Threats
Not threatened, but outside the Kermadec Islands it is only known from one extant mainland site near Te Paki (Young 1998; de Lange 2012). Formerly it grew near Waipapakauri on the Ninety-Mile Beach but that site, which consisted of one plant was destroyed by forestry (Cooper 1967; de Lange 2012).
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Convolvulaceae
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
No
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October-April
Fruiting
October - August
Life cycle and dispersal
Seeds are dispersed by wind and water (Thorsen et al., 2009).
Propagation technique
Easy from fresh seed but extremely cold sensitive. Even in mild climates, such as Kaitaia it has proved difficult to grow
Other information
Etymology
ipomoea: Worm-like, referring to coiled flower bud
Chromosome number
2n = 30
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, SO
2012 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: RR, SO
2009 | At Risk – Naturally Uncommon | Qualifiers: SO
2004 | Range Restricted
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Cooper, R.C. 1967: Ipomoea pes-caprae (Convolvulaceae) on Ninety Mile Beach, New Zealand. Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum 6: 171–174.
de Lange, P.J. 2012: Beach morning glory (Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis) in beach drift on Ripiro Beach, Omamari Stream Mouth, Northland. Wellington Botanical Society Bulletin 54: 37-41.
Green, P.S. 1994 Flora of Australia Volume 49, Oceanic Islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service. Canberra.
Sykes, W.R. 1970: Ipomoea pes-caprae (L.) R.Br. subsp. brasiliensis (L.) Oostrm. In the New
Zealand Botanical Region. New Zealand Journal of Botany 8: 249–253.
Thorsen, M. J.; Dickinson, K. J. M.; Seddon, P. J. 2009. Seed dispersal systems in the New Zealand flora. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 11: 285-309
Young, M. 1998: Field trip based at Te Paki Farm Park 13-18 November 1997. Auckland Botanical Society Journal 53: 9-10.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (18 January 2008). Description adapted from Green (1994)
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/ipomoea-pes-caprae-subsp-brasiliensis/ (Date website was queried)