Morphovariation in Fruits & Seeds of Thirty Taxa of Genus Ipomoea L. from Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Ipomoea L., a dominant genus within the family Convolvulaceae, presents significant taxonomic challenges due to closely allied morphological traits. The genus Ipomoea is one of the largest and most complex in Convolvulaceae, making species delimitation difficult. However, fruit and seed characters are of considerable value for species identification and establishing phylogenetic relationships. The genus typically produces capsule-type fruits, and fruit and seed set are generally observed under various ecological conditions. However, some species such as Ipomoea batatas, I. cairica, and I. purpurea show rare fruit formation, while parthenocarpy is observed in I. horsfalliae. Fruits are absent in I. indica during field collections. Species with exerted stamens and pistils, such as I. alba, I. horsfalliae, and I. turbinata, possess a long stylar beak. Although Ipomoea species are morphologically closely allied, the present investigation revealed variations in capsule morphology, persistent calyx, capsule valves, stylar beak, lomentum, seed number, size, shape, and colour, which help delimit taxa. This study provides detailed morphological descriptions, photographs, and an identification key to the fruits of Ipomoea species in Maharashtra for easy recognition.