Dwarf morning-glory

Description

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. It was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Convolvulus alsinoides. In 1762, he transferred it to the new genus, Evolvulus. It is a herbaceous plant, annual or perennial, with more or less 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. 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. Evolvulus is a genus of flowering plants in the Convolvulaceae, the morning glory family. They are known generally as dwarf morning glories. Most are native to the Americas. There are about 100 species. These plants are annual and perennial herbs and shrubs. They have non-twining stems. The leaves have smooth edges. Flowers are borne singly or in small clusters, or sometimes in spikes. The corolla is round and flat or bell-shaped. The fruit is a capsule containing 1 to 4 seeds. The genus name Evolvulus comes from the Latin word meaning "to unroll", inspired by its non-vining form.