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Useful Tropical Plants

Ipomoea purga

(Wender.) Hayne

Convolvulaceae

+ Synonyms

Convolvulus purga Wender

Exogonium purga (Wender) Benth.

Ipomoea schiedeana Zucc.

Common Name: Jalap

Ipomoea purga
Drawing of the roots, leaves, flowers and fruits
Photograph by: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
Public domain

General Information

Jalap ia a stout, perennial herb, producing annual stems from a large, fusiform, tuberous rootstock[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
]. These stems scramble over the ground or twine into nearby vegetation for support.
An important medicinal herb, jalap is widely used in modern medicine as a laxative and purgative. The medicinal properties of the roots have been known since pre-Conquest times, being first introduced into Europe in the mid-16th century. Initially the large natural populations were exploited, though the high demand forced cultivation in Mexico beginning in the mid-19th cent[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
]. Cultivation has spread, on a more limited scale, to several other tropical American countries and also to India, Indonesia etc, whilst the plant has at times also been cultivated as an ornamental in glasshouses in Europe and elsewhere[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References


Range

Central America - Mexico. Often naturalized in other parts of the tropics.

Habitat

Thickets, hedges and waste places, from sea-level up to 2,000 metres[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
]

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *  *
HabitPerennial Climber
Height0.00 m
Cultivation StatusCultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Not known

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

The roots are hydragogue, laxative and purgative[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
]. In small doses, they are employed in the treatment of gastritis, colitis and chronic dysentery[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].
The fresh roots need special processing (smoke drying) after harvest[
317
Title
Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
].
The roots contain 8 - 12% of a resin and an essential oil[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-29. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Ipomoea%20purga>

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