The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Ipomæa

IPOMÆA, ĭp-ō-mē'ạ, a genus of plants, including several hundred species, of the family Covolvulaceæ, consisting mostly of twining or prostrate herbs, widely distributed in warm regions. The species of most importance is I. purga, which yields the jalap of commerce. Some are cultivated for the beauty of their flowers, and are known to gardeners as convolvuli. I. purpurea, the common morning-glory, is the best known garden spedes. See Jalap.