Evolvulus alsinoides

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Evolvulus alsinoides
Dwarf Morning-glory (Evolvulus alsinoides) in Hyderabad W IMG 7978.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Evolvulus
Species:
E. alsinoides
Binomial name
Evolvulus alsinoides
(L,) L.
Varieties
  • E. a. var. alsinoides
  • E. a. var. decumbens
  • E. a. var. rotundifolia

Evolvulus alsinoides, commonly known as dwarf morning-glory and slender dwarf morning-glory, is flowering plant from the family Convolvulaceae. It has a natural pantropical distribution encompassing tropical and warm-temperate regions of Australasia, Indomalaya, Polynesia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas. [1]

Contents

It was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Convolvulus alsinoides. [2] [3] In 1762, he transferred it to the new genus, Evolvulus. [2] [4]

Description

Flower detail Dwarf Morning-glory (Evolvulus alsinoides) in Hyderabad W2 IMG 7976.jpg
Flower detail

It is a herbaceous plant, annual or perennial with numerous prostrate or ascending stems, slender, with appressed and spreading hairs. The leaves, petiolate or subsessile, are 0.7 to 2.5 cm long and 5 to 10 mm long.

The flowers are isolated or grouped in pauciflorous cymes, borne by filiform peduncles, 2.5 to 3.5 cm long. The calyx is formed by villous, lanceolate sepals 3 to 4 mm long. The rounded corolla, with pentameric symmetry, blue in color, rarely white, is 7 to 10 mm in diameter. The stamens, with filiform filaments, are united at the base of the corolla tube. The ovary, glabrous, is surmounted by two free styles. The fruit is a globular capsule, with four valves, generally containing four seeds that are black and smooth.

Habitat

The species inhabits a wide range of habitats, from marshland and wet forests to deserts. A number of varieties and subspecies are recognised. It may become a weed in some situations. It is one of the plants included in Dasapushpam, the ten sacred flowers of Kerala.[ citation needed ]

Chemistry

This herb used in traditional medicine of East Asia for its purported psychotropic and nootropic properties. [5] although such claims are not medically verified.

Chemical compounds isolated from E. alsinoides include scopoletin, umbelliferone, scopolin and 2-methyl-1,2,3,4-butanetetrol. [6]

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References

  1. "Evolvulus alsinoides (L.) L." Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Evolvolus alsinoides". Australian Plant Name Index, IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  3. Linnaeus, C. (1 May 1753). "Petnandria Monogynia". Species Plantarum. 1: 157.
  4. Linnaeus, C. (1762), Species Plantarum Edn. 2, 1: 392
  5. Amritpal Singh (2008). "Review of Ethnomedicinal Uses and Pharmacology of Evolvulus alsinoides Linn". Ethnobotanical Leaflets. 12: 734–740.
  6. Cervenka F, Koleckar V, Rehakova Z, Jahodar L, Kunes J, Opletal L, Hyspler R, Jun D, Kuca K (2008). "Evaluation of natural substances from Evolvulus alsinoides L. with the purpose of determining their antioxidant potency". J Enzyme Inhib Med Chem. 23 (4): 574–578. doi: 10.1080/14756360701674421 . PMID   18666003.