Stats

Lifespan

Perennial

Size

Medium

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Freshwater wetland

Range

Southeast Asia

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Toxins

Status

Uncommon

About

Water Morning Glory is a semiaquatic vine native to tropical Asia, prized across Southeast Asia as kangkong — a staple vegetable harvested for its tender shoots and leaves. Its hollow, buoyant stems let the plant float on still water and spread explosively by stem fragments alone, colonising ponds and rice paddies in days.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

• Read on Wikipedia →
• View on iNaturalist →
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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Solanales

Family

Convolvulaceae

Genus

Ipomoea

Species

Ipomoea aquatica