''Ipomoea carnea'', the pink morning glory, is a species of
morning glory
Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...
that grows as a bush. This flowering plant has heart-shaped leaves that are a rich green and long. It can be easily grown from seeds. These seeds are toxic and it can be hazardous to cattle; the toxicity is related to the
swainsonine produced by its endophytes,
and to
bioaccumulation of
selenium
Selenium is a chemical element with the symbol Se and atomic number 34. It is a nonmetal (more rarely considered a metalloid) with properties that are intermediate between the elements above and below in the periodic table, sulfur and tellurium, ...
in the leaves but mostly in the seeds.
The stem of ''I. carnea'' can be used for making paper.
The plant is also of medicinal value.
It contains a component identical to marsilin, a sedative and anticonvulsant.
A glycosidic saponin has also been purified from ''I. carnea'' with anticarcinogenic and oxytoxic properties.
One selection of ''I. carnea'', 'Inducer', has been used as a
rootstock
A rootstock is part of a plant, often an underground part, from which new above-ground growth can be produced. It could also be described as a stem with a well developed root system, to which a bud from another plant is grafted. It can refer to a ...
for inducing flowering of
sweetpotato cultivars which otherwise prove reticent to produce flowers.
Another common name is "bush morning glory", but particularly in temperate
North America, that usually refers to ''
I. leptophylla''.
In
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, ''I. carnea'' (in addition to other common names) is known as ''canudo-de-pito'', literally "pipe-cane", as its hollow stems were used to make tubes for
tobacco pipe
A tobacco pipe, often called simply a pipe, is a device specifically made to smoke tobacco. It comprises a chamber (the bowl) for the tobacco from which a thin hollow stem (shank) emerges, ending in a mouthpiece. Pipes can range from very simp ...
s. It thus became the namesake of
Canudos, a religious community in the
sertão
The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of " outback" with Australia in Englis ...
of
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
, over which the
War of Canudos
The War of Canudos (, , 1895–1898) was a conflict between the First Brazilian Republic and the residents of Canudos in the northeastern state of Bahia. It was waged in the aftermath of the abolition of slavery in Brazil (1888) and the overt ...
was fought 1893–1897.
File:Leaves of Ipomoea carnea plant.JPG, Leaves of an ''Ipomoea carnea'' plant.
File:Ipomoea carnea' flowers.JPG, ''Ipomoea carnea'' flowers
File:Ipomoea carnea, India.jpg, Flowers in Ranchi, India
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q311333
External links
'Inducer' cultivar in the USDA Germplasm System
carnea