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Concept
Ipomoea aquatica
Summary
Ipomoea aquatica, widely known as water spinach, is a semi-aquatic, tropical plant grown as a vegetable for its tender shoots. I. aquatica is generally believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia. It is widely cultivated in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia. It grows abundantly near waterways and requires little to no care.
Ipomoea aquatica grows in water or on moist soil. Its stems are or longer, rooting at the nodes, and they are hollow and can float. The leaves vary from typically sagittate (arrow head-shaped) to lanceolate, long and broad. The flowers are trumpet-shaped, in diameter, and usually white in colour with a mauve centre. Propagation is either by planting cuttings of the stem shoots, which will root along nodes, or by planting the seeds from flowers that produce seed pods.
Ipomoea aquatica is widely known as kangkong (also spelled kangkung), its common name in Maritime Southeast Asia, which possibly originates from Hokkien kháng (孔 'hole') + khong (空 'empty, hollow'). It is also known as water spinach, river spinach, water morning glory, water convolvulus, or by the more ambiguous names Chinese spinach, Chinese watercress, Chinese convolvulus or swamp cabbage. It is known as (空心菜) in Mandarin, (蕹菜) in Cantonese and in Hawaii, and (通菜) in modern Cantonese. In Tamil–speaking parts of South India and Sri Lanka, this spinach is known as (வள்ளல்).
The origin of Ipomoea aquatica is not quite clear, but it is generally believed to be native to Southeast Asia and was first cultivated there. This is supported by phylogenetic studies, its ideal climatic conditions, and the number of native pathogens in the region; as well as its predominant cultivation range, the prevalence in usage as food and traditional medicine, and the number of distinct native names in Southeast Asian languages.
Several sources have also cited China or India as the location of the plant's domestication. However, these claims have no supporting evidence other than the appearance of the plant's name in historical records.
Official source
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