Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud
 
     
   6 Aug 2026      ()
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Ipomoea purpurea   (Purple morning glory)


Ipomoea purpurea  (CONVOLVULACEAE.) 
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.


Website launch: Oct-2002   Taxonomic update: Aug-2026    Code update: Jul-2026

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General Information Species Images
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Datasheet Publication: Dec-2007 (last update: Aug-2021)
Citation for this page Mifsud, S. (2007). Online Flora of the Maltese Islands (2002-2026): Ipomoea purpurea - datasheet published on Dec-2007. Retrieved on 06-Aug-2026 from https://www.MaltaWildPlants.com/CONV/#CONV

Nomenclature and General Information

Species name :

Ipomoea purpurea(L.) Roth
Published in Bot. Abh. 27 (1787)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Ipomoea diversifolia Lindl.
Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [WFO] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life] [Worldplants.de]

Plant Family :

Convolvulaceae Juss. (The BindWeed Family)
24 species from the Convolvulaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Purple morning glory, Common morning Glory, Tall morning Glory

Maltese name(s) :

Kampanella komuni, Kampanella vjola

Status for Malta :

Persisting Alien. Introduced species for horticulture (flowering plants) or agriculture (herbs or fruiting trees) usually within the last 2 centuries and persist after their original location or site is abandoned. They do not widespread but usually remain as a single tree or a very localised population.

Frequency :

Very Common     Common    Frequent     Scarce     Rare    Very rare    Extinct

Growth form :

Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Macro-Phanerophyte ( high trees usually over 5 m high )

Legal Protection :

Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

February – October

Colour of Flowers:

Violet

Toxicity:

Toxic, and may lead to irreversible damage or death if consumed in large quantities

Name Derivation :

Ipomoea: Resembling a large worm for the twining stems climbing on trees and walls. (Latin origin)
purpurea: having a deep purple colour (usually referring to the flowers). (Latin origin)

Planting in rural areas :

Cannot be planted in the wild (rural areas) since the species may be invasive (see ERA guidelines)

Remarks :

Most common species of Ipomoea in the Maltese islands that nowadays can be considered as invasive.


Description, Habitat and Distribution
Botanical Description Annual or perennial herb with long, trailing or climbing stems; usually perennial. Lamina 4-16 cm, ovate or broadly ovate, entire, acuminate, cordate. Inflorescences one or seldom few-flowered; sepals 10-16 mm, lanceolate, gradually tapering from near the base, uniformly finely pubescent and with conspicuous bristles below; corolla 40-60 mm, purple to purple-blue.
Habitat in Europe Naturalized in hedges and on roadsides.
Preferred habitat in Malta Cultivated climber often escaping in the wild in already vegetated areas such as valley sides, maquis and wooded areas where they are often found scrambling on small trees
Distributional range S. Europe
Native region outside Europe Tropical America

Distributional maps from various sources
Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993)
Introduced in  Austria and Liechtenstein, the Balaeric Islands, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (mainland, excl. Sicily and Sardinia), Romania
Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
  Country codes  
[Ab(A N) AE(G) aAl Ar Au cAu(A) aBe(B) Bl(I M) aBr By nCa Ca(C) -Co aCs nCt Cy nEg Es Ga(F) nGg nGr nHs Hs(S) cHu aIJ nIt nJu La aLS Lt Lu nMd Md(M P) cMo No Rf(C E K NW S) aRm -Sa aSi(M) nSi(S) Sk Sl nTcs nTn nTu(A E) Uk aUk(K)]

Links & Further literature (0 papers)

Google Web

Google Images

Google Scholar

Research Gate

Wikipedia

JSTOR

GBIF

Med Checklist

Cat. of Life

EoL

IPNI

World Flora Online

Plants of the World Online

Vienna Virt. Herb.

RBGE Herbarium

KEW Herbarium

MNHN

Garden Database

IUCN

TROPICOS
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.

Species Images (3 images)
   Ipomoea purpurea   -   Image Code: IPMPU-0.
   Ipomoea purpurea   -   Image Code: IPMPU-1.
   Ipomoea purpurea   -   Image Code: IPMPU-2.

Sales and Donations
Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta:  Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).

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Contribute Information or Report Errors
Use this form to submit additional information about this species or to report any inaccuracies on this webpage. If the information you provide is sourced from a book, journal, website, or any other publication, rather then your own information or experience, then please include the relevant reference or web address whenever possible. Your email address will be used solely for internal communication and will not be shared. We greatly appreciate reports of: taxonomic updates;   species misidentifications;   incorrect or outdated information,   broken links,   technical website issues,   or any additional information specific to the plant in this webpage.

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Section B:   Where have you seen this plant on the Maltese Islands?
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