Ipomoea costata, commonly known as rock morning glory, is an Australian native plant.[2] It is found in northern Australia, from Western Australia, through the Northern Territory, to Queensland.[3] Its tubers provide a form of bush tucker to some Aboriginal peoples, known as bush potato,[4] or (to the Ngururrpa groups in WA), karnti.[5]
Ipomoea costata | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Solanales |
Family: | Convolvulaceae |
Genus: | Ipomoea |
Species: | I. costata |
Binomial name | |
Ipomoea costata Benth.[1] | |
It is a prostrate or climbing perennial growing up to 3 m high, with purple-blue-pink flowers from February to November.[2] Juvenile form is a vine, maturing into a woody-stemmed shrub with vine-like stems. Leaves are broad and leathery, 4-9 cm long.[4] Tubers are rounded, 12-20 cm long by 5-18 cm wide, with a single plant potentially having up to twenty tubers.[6]
It occurs on sandy or rocky soils, often over limestone,[2] and on spinifex sand plains in northern Australia.[4]
It is the source of bush potato, a bush tucker food for Aboriginal people.[4] Bush potatoes are cooked on the warm earth under coals, and are peeled when cooked.[6]
In Central Australia, I. costata is also known to Aboriginal people by the following names:[7]
Ipomoea | |
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Lepidoptera that feed on Ipomoea | |
Species |
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Taxon identifiers |
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