Ipomoea mitchelliae Standl.

Wood, John R. I., Munoz-Rodriguez, Pablo, Williams, Bethany R. M. & Scotland, Robert W., 2020, A foundation monograph of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) in the New World, PhytoKeys 143, pp. 1-823 : 1

306. Ipomoea mitchelliae Standl. , Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 8: 39. 1930. (Standley 1930: 39)

Ipomoea variabilis auct. sensu Austin et al. 2012: 341 .

Type.

HONDURAS. Atlántica, La Fragua, P. C. Standley 52658 (holotype F0054855, isotype US).

Description.

Twining or trailing perennial; stems slender, rugose, glabrous or pilose. Leaves petiolate; 6-15 × 4-12 cm, ± ovate-deltoid, sometimes shallowly 3-lobed, margin sometimes with a single lateral tooth, base subhastate, apex obtuse and mucronate; petioles 6-12 cm. Inflorescence of 1-4-flowered axillary cymes; peduncles 3-5 cm; bracteoles c. 6-8 × 2 mm, linear-oblong, relatively persistent; pedicels 5-8 mm; sepals subequal, 12-14 × 3-4 mm, lanceolate to ovate, acuminate to apiculate, herbaceous, pilose with spreading hairs near base but glabrous towards the apex, the inner sepals narrower; corolla 6-7 cm long, funnel-shaped, glabrous, the tube whitish, the limb blue. Capsules subconical, 2.5-3 cm long and wide, glabrous; seeds 3-4 mm long, rounded, puberulent, black.

Distribution.

Primary and secondary woodland at low altitudes in southern Mexico and Central America, locally common, for example in Veracruz, but perhaps overlooked, particularly in Central America.

COSTA RICA. P. Wilkin 474 (BM).

HONDURAS. F. de La Puente 4569 (CIP), 4455 (CIP); La Mosquitia, C. Ashe 159 (BM).

MEXICO. Campeche: fide Austin et al. (2012). Chiapas: Aguilar 996 (MO); Ocosingo, S. Sinaca & R. Lombera 2472 (IEB); Motozintla, A. Bourg 150 (IEB). Oaxaca: R. López Luna 355 (NY); Sierra San Pedro Nolasco, Jurgensen 857 (K); Temazcal, M. Sousa 1007 (MEXU). Puebla: F. Ventura 21703 (F). Quintana Roo: fide Austin et al. (2012). San Luis Potosí: R.M. King 4389 (F, NY). Veracruz: F. Müller 119 (NY); Gouin s.n. (P); R. Pedraza 269 (F); M.A. Garcia et al. 589 (IEB); M. Rosas 1390 (MEXU). Yucatán: E. Ucán Ek 3139 (XAL).

Note.

Resembles Ipomoea meyeri but differs in the larger corolla. It is also confused with and is superficially similar to Ipomoea indica but differs in the bilocular capsule with 4 seeds ( v. trilocular with 6 seeds) and the distinctive sepals with long, often yellowish hairs.

For a discussion about the application of the name Ipomoea variabilis, See Austin and MacDonald (2014b) .