Ipomoea hederacea
Encyclopedia
Ipomoea hederacea is a flowering plant
in the bindweed family
. The species is native to tropical parts of the Americas, and has more recently been introduced to North America
. It now occurs there from Arizona
to Florida
and north to Ontario
and North Dakota
. Like most members of the family, it is a climbing vine
with alternate leaves
on twining stems. The flowers are blue to rose-purple with a white inner throat and emerge in Summer and continue until late Fall. The leaves are typically three-lobed, but sometimes may be five-lobed or entire. Flowers occur in clusters of 1-3 and are 2.5-4.5 cm long and wide. The sepal
s taper to long recurved tips and measure 12-24 mm long. The species shares some features with the close relative Ipomoea purpurea
.
. The large seeds are taken infrequently by Northern bobwhite and seed-eating songbirds. Flowers are used by some of the larger butterflies such as swallowtails
and fritillaries and the ruby-throated hummingbird
.
Most of the pollinations of Ipomoea hederacea are achieved by self-pollination
, with a sefling rate of 93% observed in one population.
Ipomoea hederacea has been studied as a target of character displacement
. When it co-occurs with Ipomoea purpurea
, natural selection
favors individuals of I. hederacea with anthers that are more tightly clustered around the stigma
. This is to presumably reduce pollinations of I. hederacea by I. purpurea, which, should they occur, results in sterile seeds, wasting valuable resources of the parent plant and reducing fitness
. This fitness reduction is not reciprocal, however, as I. hederacea pollen does not germinate on I. purpurea stigmas, thus giving the latter species a potential advantage competitively. This selective pressure leads the anthers to form a barrier over the stigma of I. hederacea in order to protect from pollen from other species making contact, but possibly increasing self-pollination
as well. When I. hederacea occurs by itself, however, no such selective pressure is evident and anther barriers are looser and less consistent.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
in the bindweed family
Convolvulaceae
Convolvulaceae, known commonly as the bindweed or morning glory family, are a group of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species of mostly herbaceous vines, but also trees, shrubs and herbs.- Description :...
. The species is native to tropical parts of the Americas, and has more recently been introduced to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It now occurs there from Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and north to Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
. Like most members of the family, it is a climbing vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
with alternate leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
on twining stems. The flowers are blue to rose-purple with a white inner throat and emerge in Summer and continue until late Fall. The leaves are typically three-lobed, but sometimes may be five-lobed or entire. Flowers occur in clusters of 1-3 and are 2.5-4.5 cm long and wide. The sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s taper to long recurved tips and measure 12-24 mm long. The species shares some features with the close relative Ipomoea purpurea
Ipomoea purpurea
Ipomoea purpurea, the Purple, Tall, or Common Morning Glory, is a species in the genus Ipomoea, native to Mexico and Central America. Like all morning glories the plant entwines itself around structures, growing to a height of 2–3 m tall. The leaves are heart-shaped and the stems are covered with...
.
Ecology
The morning-glories are little used by white-tailed deerWhite-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
. The large seeds are taken infrequently by Northern bobwhite and seed-eating songbirds. Flowers are used by some of the larger butterflies such as swallowtails
Swallowtail butterfly
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies that form the family Papilionidae. There are over 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica...
and fritillaries and the ruby-throated hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird , is a small hummingbird. It is the only species of hummingbird that regularly nests east of the Mississippi River in North America.- Description :...
.
Most of the pollinations of Ipomoea hederacea are achieved by self-pollination
Self-pollination
Self-pollination is a form of pollination that can occur when a flower has both stamen and a carpel in which the cultivar or species is self fertile and the stamens and the sticky stigma of the carpel contact each other in order to accomplish pollination...
, with a sefling rate of 93% observed in one population.
Ipomoea hederacea has been studied as a target of character displacement
Character displacement
Character displacement refers to the phenomenon where differences among similar species whose distributions overlap geographically are accentuated in regions where the species co-occur but are minimized or lost where the species’ distributions do not overlap. This pattern results from evolutionary...
. When it co-occurs with Ipomoea purpurea
Ipomoea purpurea
Ipomoea purpurea, the Purple, Tall, or Common Morning Glory, is a species in the genus Ipomoea, native to Mexico and Central America. Like all morning glories the plant entwines itself around structures, growing to a height of 2–3 m tall. The leaves are heart-shaped and the stems are covered with...
, natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
favors individuals of I. hederacea with anthers that are more tightly clustered around the stigma
Stigma
Stigma is a word that originally means a "sign", "point", or "branding mark". It may refer to:-As a symbolic mark:* The Mark of Cain* Stigmata, bodily marks or wounds resembling the crucifixion wounds of Jesus...
. This is to presumably reduce pollinations of I. hederacea by I. purpurea, which, should they occur, results in sterile seeds, wasting valuable resources of the parent plant and reducing fitness
Fitness (biology)
Fitness is a central idea in evolutionary theory. It can be defined either with respect to a genotype or to a phenotype in a given environment...
. This fitness reduction is not reciprocal, however, as I. hederacea pollen does not germinate on I. purpurea stigmas, thus giving the latter species a potential advantage competitively. This selective pressure leads the anthers to form a barrier over the stigma of I. hederacea in order to protect from pollen from other species making contact, but possibly increasing self-pollination
Self-pollination
Self-pollination is a form of pollination that can occur when a flower has both stamen and a carpel in which the cultivar or species is self fertile and the stamens and the sticky stigma of the carpel contact each other in order to accomplish pollination...
as well. When I. hederacea occurs by itself, however, no such selective pressure is evident and anther barriers are looser and less consistent.