Morning Glory Water Spinach Flower
Those who say it is edible claim its connection to water spinach which is from the same family.
Morning glory water spinach flower. Can you eat morning glory leaves. Water spinach ipomoea aquatica also known as chinese or river spinach. It is also known by some other local names in different parts of the world. This plant is known in english as water spinach river spinach water morning glory water convolvulus or by the more ambiguous names chinese spinach chinese watercress chinese convolvulus or swamp cabbage or kangkong in southeast asia and ong choy in.
Its seeds were used in china as an herbal laxative remedy at one time. Eating morning glory leaves is a matter of much debate across the web. In fact the two names are often interchangeable in asian recipes which include the ingredient morning glory leaves both cooked and raw. Morning glory or water spinach is a common leafy vegetable in south east asia.
Ipomoea aquatica is rarely found in the shallow water in ponds lakes and rivers of hillsborough pinellas and manatee counties of florida it is native to the east indies but escaped cultivation wunderlin 2003. This plant is known in english as water spinach river spinach water morning glory water convolvulus or by the more ambiguous names chinese spinach swamp cabbage and kangkong in southeast asia. The water morning glory or water spinach also called ipomoea aquatica is eaten in certain parts of asia just like a vegetable. Ipomoea aquatica is a semi aquatic tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots and it is not known where it originated.
The chinese water spinach or ipomoea aquatica is part of the morning glory genus called so because of their trumpet shaped flowers that peak at full bloom in the morning. Interesting things to know about the morning glory flower. It is found throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world although it is not known where it originated. Water spinach is known by many other different names such as river spinach kangkong kangkung water morning glory water convolvulus chinese watercress chinese convolvulus chinese spinach and swamp cabbage.
View more information and pictures about water spinach as contained in the langeland burks book identification biology of non native plants in florida s natural. It is crunchy juicy and very rich in taste. Water spinach ipomoea aquatica is a member of the convolvulaceae morning glory family and the same genus as the sweet potato ipomoea batatas water spinach is an herbaceous aquatic or semi aquatic perennial plant of the tropics and subtropics. It has a creeping growth habit but may grow erect in water.