''Convolvulus'' is a genus of about 200 to 250''Convolvulus''.
Flora of China.''Convolvulus''
The Jepson eFlora. 2013. species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

bindweed Bindweed may refer to: * Some species of Convolvulaceae (bindweed family or morning glory family): ** ''Calystegia'' (bindweed, false bindweed, morning glory), a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants ** ''Convolvulus'' (bindweed, morning ...

family

Convolvulaceae Convolvulaceae (), commonly called the bindweed, bindweeds or morning glory, morning glories, is a Family (biology), family of about 60 genera and more than 1,650 species. These species are primarily herbaceous vines, but also include trees, sh ...

,Parnell, J. and Curtis, T. 2012. ''Webb's An Irish Flora''. Cork University Press. with a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...

. Common names include bindweed and

morning glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose taxonomy and systematics remain in flux. These species are distributed across numerous genus, gene ...

; both are names shared with other closely related

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

Description

They are annual or

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

vine A vine is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas, or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselves, for instance, when used in wicker work.Jackson; Benjamin; Da ...

s, bines and (a few species of) woody

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, growing to 0.3–3 m tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are spirally arranged, and the

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s trumpet-shaped, mostly white or pink, but blue, violet, purple, or yellow in some species.

Ecology

Many of the species are invasive

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

s; but others are cultivated for their attractive

s, while some are globally threatened. ''Convolvulus'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species, including the convolvulus hawk moth, the sweet potato leaf miner (''Bedellia somnulentella'') and the gem; the

leaf miner A leaf miner is any one of numerous species of insects in which the larval stage lives in, and eats, the leaf tissue of plants. The vast majority of leaf-mining insects are moths (Lepidoptera), sawflies (Symphyta, a paraphyletic group which ...

'' Bucculatrix cantabricella'' feeds exclusively on ''C. cantabricus''.

Gallery

File:PikiWiki Israel 7035 Plants of Israel.jpg, '' Convolvulus dorycnium'' File:Convolvulus sabatius0.jpg, '' Convolvulus sabatius'' File:Convolvulus tricolor.jpg, Cultivated '' Convolvulus tricolor'' File:Convolvulus althaeoides 1-fruto.jpg, '' Convolvulus althaeoides'' File:Convolvulus arvensis -flower view 01.jpg, '' Convolvulus arvensis'' File:Семечко вьюнка.jpg, Seed under a microscope File:Convolvulus Cephalopodus in Behbahan, Iran (1).jpg, ''Convolvulus cephalopodus'' in Behbahan File:Convolvulus Cephalopodus in Behbahan, Iran (2).jpg, ''Convolvulus cephalopodus'' in Behbahan

References

External links

*
Flora Europaea: ''Convolvulus''
{{Authority control Convolvulaceae genera Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus