Convolvulaceae (morning glories) of Sonora, Mexico: a photo gallery
Mihai Costea, Daniel F. Austin, Richard S. Felger, Thomas R. Van Devender, Jesús Sánchez-Escalante
This page is mirrored at University of Arizona Herbarium
The Convolvulaceae, with an estimated 84 species, is the seventh largest family in the state of Sonora, Mexico (Costea et al., 2012; Felger et al., 2012). When we were getting the study ready for the publisher, the length of the 
articles made us realize that inclusion of illustrations would be limited. Therefore, we decided to create this companion catalog illustrating the species in Sonora. To help people recognize these diverse plants, ranging from diminutive annual vines to trees, multiple illustrations are The result of this study is the most detailed and complete investigation of the family in any of the northern states of Mexico. While we and our colleagues have taken many of these photographs within Sonora, we include others taken elsewhere to illustrate the species.
We each started studying plants in Sonora at different times. We have, however, been collaborating on this family for more than two decades. Most of Dan’s studies of the family, starting in 1966, were confined to southern Mexico and farther south into northern South America until about 1989 when he was on sabbatical at Arizona State University in Tempe working on the Convolvulaceae for the revised flora of Arizona. That year he began working with Richard and Tom. Richard has been botanizing in Sonora since high school and collecting herbarium specimens there since he was a freshman at the University of Arizona. He and Dan have collaborated on convolv papers, including the description of the Sonoran endemic Ipomoea seaania. His convolv specimens have been shared with Dan and Mihai. In the early 1990s Tom began sending even more of his Convolvulaceae collections to Dan for identification and in 2005 he sent his Cuscuta collections, started in 1996, to Mihai. Mihai began studying Cuscuta from the region in 2004, building on his extensive research on the genus. As curator of the Herbario de la Universidad de Sonora (USON), Jesús has been botanizing in the state for several decades, including convolv collections.
The result of this study is the most detailed and complete investigation of the family in any of the northern states of Mexico. Moreover, the results surprised even us by including almost as many species as known from Veracruz and states to the south in Mexico. July 30, 2012.
Felger, R.S., D.F. Austin, T.R. Van Devender, J.J. Sánchez-Escalante, and M. Costea. 2012. Convolvulaceae of Sonora, Mexico. I. Convolvulus, Cressa, Dichondra, Evolvulus, Ipomoea, Jacquemontia, Merremia, and Operculina. J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 6 (2): 459-527.
Convolvulus Cressa Cuscuta Dichondra Evolvulus
Ipomoea Jacquemontia Merremia Operculina
Abbreviations for vegetation types and growth forms: AGF = agricultural fields, CHD = Chihuahuan Desertscrub, CTH = coastal thornscrub, CUL = cultivated, DGR = desert grassland, GRS = grassland, FTH = foothills thornscrub, MGR = mesquite grasslands, MXC = mixed conifer forest, OAG = Oak-grassland, OAW = oak woodland, OMS = oak-mesquite scrub, SND = Sonoran desertscrub, POF = pine oak forest, ann = annual, per = herbaceous perennial, f per = facultative perennial, lian = liana, v = vine.
Convolvulus
* Convolvulus arvensis; additional photos: New Mexico’s Flora of Patrick Alexander; Phytoimages; SND, CHD, OAW, POF; per, v
Convolvulus equitans; additional photos: New Mexico’s Flora of Patrick Alexander;CHD, GRS, OMS; per
Cressa
Cressa truxillensis; additional photos: New Mexico’s Flora of Patrick Alexander; SND, CTH; per
Cuscuta
Cuscuta americana: non-type, specimen (dissected); living plants; more living plants CTH, FTH, OAW, SND, TDF; ann, f per
Cuscuta azteca: type specimen (dissected); POF, TDF; ann
Cuscuta boldinghii: type (dissected); non-type specimen (dissected); living plants; CTH, TDF; ann
Cuscuta campestris: type(dissected); non-type specimen (dissected); living plants; AGF, OAG; ann
Cuscuta chinensis var. applanata: type (dissected); ; DGR, SND, TDF; ann
Cuscuta corymbosa var. grandiflora: non-type specimen (dissected); living plants; FTH, SND; ann, f per
Cuscuta costaricensis: type(dissected); non-type specimen (dissected); living plants; OAW, POF; ann
Cuscuta dentatasquamata: type specimen (dissected); POF; ann
Cuscuta desmouliniana: type(dissected); non-type specimen (dissected); living plants Phytoimages; CTH, FTH, SND; ann
Cuscuta erosa: non-type specimen dissected; CHD, FTH, TDF; ann
Cuscuta indecora var. indecora: type specimen, dissected; living plants; AGF, CTH, SND; ann
Cuscuta legitima: type specimen (dissected); additional specimens dissected: gallery 1; gallery 2; living plants; CHD, CTH, FTH, SND, TDF; ann
Cuscuta leptantha: type specimen (dissected); additional specimen gallery; living plants; SND; ann
Cuscuta macrocephala: type specimen dissected; non-type specimen; FTH, GRS, OAW, TDF; ann
Cuscuta odontolepis: type specimen, dissected; additional specimen; DGR, FTH; ann
Cuscuta polyanthemos: type specimen, dissected; additional specimen; FTH; ann
Cuscuta salina: type specimen, dissected; living plants; SND; ann
Cuscuta tinctoria: non-type specimen, dissected; living plants; SND; ann
Cuscuta tuberculata: non-type specimen dissected; additional specimen; FTH, SND; ann
Cuscuta umbellata var. umbellata: type specimen, dissected; additional specimen; SND; ann
Cuscuta vandevenderi: type specimen, dissected; OAW, POF, TDF; ann
Dichondra
Dichondra argentea: images from Patrick Alexander’s Flora of New Mexico; per
Dichondra brachypoda; additional photos: New Mexico’s Flora of Patrick Alexander; OAW, POF; per
Dichondra sericea; additional photos: New Mexico’s Flora of Patrick Alexander;OAW, POF; per
Evolvulus
Evolvulus alsinoides; Tropicos images; CTH, FTH, DGR, OAW, POF, SND, TDF; per
Evolvulus arizonicus; additional photos: New Mexico’s Flora of Patrick Alexander; FTH, GRS, MGR, OAW, POF, SND, TDF per
Evolvulus filipes; Tropicos; OAW, TDF; ann
Evolvulus nuttallianus; more photos from Madrean Flora; Phytoimages; (probably) POF, OAW; per
Evolvulus prostratus; herbarium specimen from ARIZ; POF; per
Evolvulus rotundifolius; herbarium specimen from ARIZ; POF, MXC, OAW; per
Evolvulus sericeus;additional photos: New Mexico’s Flora of Patrick Alexander; DGR, GRS; per
Ipomoea
Ipomoea alba; More photos from: Phytoimages; OAW, TDF; per, v
Ipomoea ampullacea; POF; per, v
Ipomoea ancisa; more photos from: SEINET; OAW, POF; per, v or subshrub
Ipomoea arborescens var. arborescens;additional photos from: SEINET; CTH, FTH, SND, TDF; tree
Ipomoea arborescens var. pachylutea; OAW, TDF; tree
Ipomoea aristolochiifolia; CHD, OAW, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea barbatisepala;Additional photos from: SEINET; DGR, ?CTH,? FTH, OAW, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea batatas; more photos from SEINET; Phytoimages; CUL, CTH, FTH, SND, TDF; per, v
Ipomoea bracteata; additional photos from: SEINET; CTH, FTH, OAW, TDF; lian, per, v
Ipomoea capillacea; more photos from SEINET; POF, OAW; per, v
Ipomoea cairica; additional photos from SEINET; per. v
Ipomoea cardiophylla; CD, v
*Ipomoea carnea subsp. fistulosa; CTH, CUL; shrub (lian elsewhere)v
Ipomoea chilopsidis; OAW; small tree
Ipomoea costellata; additional photos from: SEINET; CHD, CTH, FTH, GRS, OAW, POF, SND, TDF; ann v
Ipomoea cristulata; more photos from SEINET; Phytoimages; CHD, CTH, FTH, GRS, OAW, POF, SND; ann v
Ipomoea decasperma; POF; per, v
Ipomoea hederacea; additional photos from: SEINET; Phytoimages; GRS, SND, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea hederifolia; Phytoimages; CTH, FTH, OAW, POF, SND, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea imperati; more photos from SEINET; Phytoimages; CTH; per, v
Ipomoea laeta; POF (Chihuahua); per, v
Ipomoea heptaphylla; Roxburgh’s Flora Indica (lectotype); Plants Database; FTH; ann, v
Ipomoea x leucantha CTH, FTH, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea longifolia; FTH, GRS, OAW, TDF; per, v
Ipomoea madrensis; OAW, POF; per, v
Ipomoea meyeri; TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea minutiflora; FTH, OAW, POF, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea muricata; TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea nil; CTH, FTH, SND, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea parasitica; CHD, FTH, riparian in OAW, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea pedicellaris; CTH, FTH, TDF; lian, v
Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis; more photos from: Phytoimages; CTH; per, v
Ipomoea plummerae; POF; per, v
Ipomoea pubescens; more images from: SEINET; OAW, POF; per, v
Ipomoea purpurea; more photos from SEINET; Phytoimages; SND, OAW, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea quamoclit; more photos from Phytoimages; TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea scopulorum; FTH, SND, TDF; per, v
Ipomoea seaania; SND; shrub
Ipomoea tenuiloba; images from: SEINET; OAW, POF; per, v
Ipomoea ternifolia var. leptotoma; CHD, FTH, GRS, OAW, SND, TDF; ann, v
Ipomoea thurberi; GRS, OAW, POF; per, v
Ipomoea triloba; Phytoimages; CTH, TDF; ann, v
Jacquemontia
Jacquemontia abutiloides; some images available from: SEINET; SND; per, v
Jacquemontia agrestis; CTH, FTH, SND, TDF; ann, v or not
Jacquemontia pentanthos; more photos from: SEINET; CTH, OAW, TDF; per, v
Jacquemontia polyantha; CTH, SND, TDF; per, v
Jacquemontia pringlei; more photos from: SEINET; CHD, CTH, FTH, OAW, SND, TDF; per, v
Merremia
Merremia cissoides; Convolvulaceae Unlimited; TDF; ann, v
*Merremia dissecta; CUL, TDF; per, v
Merremia palmeri; one photo from Arizona Desert Museum; CTH, FTH, SND, TDF; per, v
Merremia quinquefolia; Calphotos; TDF; per, sometimes ann, v
Operculina
Operculina pinnatifida; Jim Conrad’s Naturalist Newsletter; CTH, FTH; per, v
Operculina pteripes; FTH, OAW, TDF; per or lian, v