Kangkong, Swamp Morning Glory
Ipomoea aquatica

Family: Convolvulaceae

What it is like

Ipomoea aquatica or commonly known in various names such as but not limited to Swamp Morning Glory, Chinese Water Spinach, Swamp Cabbage, and Kangkong is a fast-growing, annual or perennial plant with sprawling stems of up to 2-3 m long over the ground, float in water, or twine into other plants for support. It is a very popular leaf vegetable in Asia. The leaves and young shoots are cooked or eaten raw. The roots are occasionally cooked and eaten as well. The young shoots have medicinal uses. It is mildly laxative and is used for diabetes and fever. The leaves, on the other hand, are crushed and applied as a poultice on sores and boils. Ringworm is treated using a paste made from the buds. The roots are used for arsenic poisoning and hemorrhoids.

Ipomoea aquatica is an evergreen Annual/Perennial growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in) by 0.3 m (1ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 8. The flowers are pollinated by Bees, Butterflies. The plant is self-fertile. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist or wet soil and can grow in water.

Height (m): 0.5

Where it is found

Moist, marshy or inundated localities, shallow pools, ditches, rice fields, forming dense masses. Also found along roadsides at elevations from sea-level up to 1,000 metres.

Pantropical.

Conservation Status: Status: Least Concern

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Central America, Chad, China, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Guiana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Southern Africa, South America, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Sudan, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tasmania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

How it is used

Food

Rating: 4

Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked. The tasty leaves are produced all year round. The youngest shoot tips can be added to salads, older leaves are cooked and make a mild-flavoured spinach. The leaves can be stir-fried, steamed, boiled for a few minutes or lightly fried in oil and eaten in various dishes. They are often mixed with hot peppers and garlic and prepared with a savoury dish. Very nutritious, the leaves are a good source of protein as well as providing good quantities of vitamin A, iron, calcium and phosphorus. Roots - occasionally cooked and eaten.

Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.

Medicine

Rating: 2

The young shoots are mildly laxative and are used by diabetic patients. A decoction of the leaves is used to treat coughs. The fried leaves are eaten to cool down a fever. The crushed leaves are applied as a poultice on sores and boils. A paste made from the buds is used to treat ringworm. The roots are laxative, tonic and antidote. They are used in the treatment of opium or arsenic poisoning, and also to counter the effects of drinking unhealthy water. A decoction of the roots is used as a wash against haemorrhoids. The plant has shown oral hypoglycaemic activity in tests with diabetic humans; it was shown that an aqueous leaf extract can be as effective as tolbutamide in reducing blood glucose levels.

Antidote: Counters poisoning.

Antihaemorrhoidal: Treats haemorrhoids (piles). This would probably be best added to another heading.

Antitussive: Prevents or relieves coughing.

Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.

Hypoglycaemic: Reduces the levels of sugar in the blood.

Laxative: Stimulates bowel movements in a fairly gentle manner.

Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.

Skin: Plants used in miscellaneous treatments for the skin.

Tonic: Improves general health. Slower acting than a stimulant, it brings steady improvement.

Other

Rating: 0

Other Uses: None known

Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.

How it is grown

Swamp morning glory is a plant of the moist to wet, lowland tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 15 - 35°c, but can tolerate 10 - 40°c. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,000 - 2,500mm, but tolerates 700 - 4,200mm. Plants grow well in full sun. A very easy plant to grow, it succeeds in bathtubs, ponds and still water. Succeeds in a wide range of soils, including heavy clays. Best leaf production comes from plants grown in soils rich in organic matter. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 7, tolerating 4.3 - 7.5. The plant is widespread as a swamp weed in all tropical and many subtropical lowland areas. It is a declared aquatic or terrestrial noxious weed in the south-eastern United States. A very fast-growing plant, it starts developing lateral branches from cotyledonary buds 2 - 3 weeks after sowing. Thereafter the main axis and both laterals each produce about one leaf every 2 - 3 days. Cultivars selected for once-over harvest or uprooting have retarded branching or almost no branching. Their harvest takes place 21 - 30 days after sowing. Cut and come again harvesting of vegetatively propagated plants or wild plants can start about one month after plant establishment. Flowering commences after 2 - 5 months, but the plant continues to form new leaves and branches. Swamp morning glory is a quantitative short-day plant, early flowering being induced by short days of less than 12 hours. Flowering is also stimulated by drought. There are some named varieties. Two main forms exist in cultivation: A short-lived perennial form grows in very wet soils and water (it has been named Ipomoea aquatica aquatica by some authorities). This form can produce yields ofup to 90 tonnes per hectare in Thailand. An annual creeping form tolerates drier conditions (this has been named Ipomoea aquatica reptans). Under dryland cultivation, yields per crop can range from 7 - 30 tonnes per hectare, averaging 20 tonnes. In theory one crop can be produced every month leading to a potential yield of around 240 tonnes per hectare in a year produce.

Propagating it: Seed - sow in situ in moist to wet soil. Only the annual form is usually propagated this way. Germination rates of local cultivars are often low (less than 60%) because of hard-seededness induced by long storage. Reliable seed companies supply improved cultivars with a high (in excess of 80%) germination percentage. The seeds do not germinate well at temperatures lower than 25°c. Cuttings of young shoots at any time of the year. The shoots readily produce roots, even whilst still on the parent plant.

Best place to grow:

Habit: Annual/Perennial

Hardiness: 7-12

Growth: Fast

Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)

Shade: No shade

Moisture: Moist, wet, water

Things to keep in mind

Accumulation of heavy metals in the plant has been reported in Asia, mainly because the plants are often grown in polluted water.

Its other names

Local names

Swamp Morning Glory, Chinese Water Spinach, Swamp Cabbage, Arkala, Bilebo, Bola-bola, Boong, Chidledelane, Demblamuna, Dine thamnunglai, Djambo, Engtsai, Ganthian, Itambeleta, Kalembula, Kalmi sag, Kalmi shak, Kalmi-sag, Kalmisak, Kalmua, Kangkung, Kankon, Karamta, Karembua, Kolamni, Kolom sak, Kolmou, Kolmow sak, Kozhuppa, Nadishaka, Nalanibhaji, Nali-ka-sag, Nali, Nari, Narini bhaji, Ong choy, Pak boong, Pak bung, Panbhaji, Patua-sag, Phak bung, Pond Morning Glory, Quelo, Rau muong che, Rau muong, Sarnali, Swamp Morning Glory, Tach, Tegada, Te kangkong, Trakuen, Tutikura, Ung tsai, Ung ts'oi, Vellaikeerai, Vellay keeray, Weng cai, cancon, chinese water-spinach, espinaca acuática, kalambhi, kangkong, karamuwan, karmi, liseron d'eau, patate aquatique, sallatsipomea, sumpfkohl, swamp cabbage, swamp morning-glory, wasserspinat, water spinach, water-convolvulus, yo-sai.

Synonyms

Ipomoea reptans Poir.