Ipomoea marginisepala O'Donell

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

255. Ipomoea marginisepala O'Donell , Lilloa 23: 490. 1950. ( O’Donell 1950b: 490)

Type.

ARGENTINA. Tucumán, Dept. Tafí, Cerro Aconquija, J.B. Sotelo 415 (holotype LIL001262).

Description.

Relatively weak, probably annual, twining herb, glabrous in all parts. Leaves petiolate, 3-9 2.5-7 cm, ovate, cordate with rounded auricles, acuminate to a fine point, margins undulate; petioles 3-8(-12) cm, somewhat warted. Inflorescence of pedunculate, axillary cymes, often with only 2 fully developed flowers; peduncle relatively stout, 2-15 cm; bracteoles 1-3 mm, deltoid, fugacious; secondary peduncles 0.8-1.5 cm; pedicels mostly 20-30 mm, slightly swollen upwards; sepals subequal, 5-6 × 3 mm, oblong-lanceolate, acute, dark green with white margin; corolla 2.5-4 cm long, funnel-shaped, glabrous, tube white, yellowish inside, limb blue, c. 3 cm diam., unlobed. Capsules ovoid, 7 mm wide, 8 mm long, rostrate with a beak 3-5 mm long, glabrous; seeds 6-7 mm long, appearing glabrous but minutely tomentellous under a microscope.

Illustration.

O’Donell (1959b: 186).

Distribution.

Dry inter-Andean valleys of northern Argentina and southern Bolivia but scattered in occurrence and uncommon in both countries, growing between about 700 and 2000 m.

ARGENTINA. Jujuy: San Pedro, A.L. Cabrera et al. 30247 (SI); Candelaria, S. Venturi 3859 (LIL, SI); El Carmen, L.J. Novara & S. Bruno 9846 (G, S). Salta: Capital, Atocha, L.J. Novara 9668 (G, S); Rosario de la Frontera, M. Lillo s.n. (LIL, SI). Santiago del Estero: Guasayán, S. Pierotti s.n. [6/4/1944] (CORD, LIL). Tucumán: type collection.

BOLIVIA. Chuquisaca: Oropeza, Chuquichuqui, J.R.I. Wood 10904 (HSB, NY, K). Potosí: Charcas, Río Caine, L. Rico & Windsor-Shaw 1634 (K, MO, NY). Santa Cruz: Caballero, Saipina, J. Balcazar 367 (MO); Pulquina, N. Biggs & D. Zappi 70 (K, USZ); Cordillera, pie de la Muela del Diablo, J.R.I. Wood et al. 27631 (K, LPB, USZ); Vallegrande, Moro Moro, J.R.I. Wood et al. 27692 (K, LPB, USZ). Tarija: Gran Chaco, Villamontes-Palos Blancos, J.R.I. Wood et al. 27612 (K, LPB, USZ); O’Connor, Entre Ríos-Cañadas, M. Coro 1119 (LIL).

Notes.

Very similar to and possibly conspecific with Ipomoea cardiophylla A. Gray but molecular studies using ITS suggest the two species are distinct. Further sampling is needed to resolve these issues.

Kessler et al. 6119 (LPB) from Loma Larga towards Masicuri in Vallegrande Province (Bolivia) may belong here but differs in the presence of stiff trichomes on the calyx and in having somewhat toothed leaves. It requires further investigation and might represent a distinct species.