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Convolvulaceae

In this series, I aim to give you a quick introduction to some of the plant families found in the UK. Learning to identify plant families is a great help in identifying individual plant species you come across – if you know the family, then you know where to start looking for the species in a guide, and identifying the family is an achievement in itself. Plants are classified into families based on characteristics that they share; this is then narrowed down further into genera and then into species. So, the way to identify a plant’s family is to know these characteristic features. In this video we are going to look at the Convolvulaceae, the bindweed or morning glory family. Worldwide, this family contains over 1600 species, and they have a cosmopolitan distribution, meaning they are around in most places. The majority of species are vines, either woody or herbaceous, though the family also includes herbs, shrubs and a few trees. They are annual or perennial. Convolvulaceae are widely grown as ornamental plants; Ipomoea purpurea (purple morning glory) and Convolvulus cneorum (silverbush) are a couple of examples. Other species as used for food, like Ipomoea batatas, the sweet potato, while a few have seeds with hallucinogenic properties that have been used in traditional rituals and ceremonies for many years. This family also contains the well-known hedge bindweed, Calystegia sepium, often regarded as a weed. The parasitic dodders, Cuscuta, are now included in the Convolvulaceae, too. There are a only a handful of wild Convolvulaceae species in the UK, and all are twining perennial vines or scrambling herbaceous plants. As well and Calystegia sepium, there is another common bindweed, Convolvulus arvensis (field bindweed), and a few other species of Calystegia (plus Cuscuta). Convolvulavceae flowers are characteristically funnel-shaped, with the petals joined together into a trumpet-shaped corolla. They are furled in the bud and the pleats where the corolla was folded can often be seen on the expanded flowers as stripes or lines. The flowers are large, have regular symmetry and are mostly shades of pink or white. There are five separate sepals and also bracts underneath each flower. There are five stamens and the ovary is superior. Cuscuta flowers are tiny and pale, with partially fused petals. Convolvulaceae fruits are dry capsules. These plants have long, twining stems that creep over the ground and twine up other plants. The leaves are alternately arranged and in the UK species are generally simple and lobed, resembling an arrowhead or heart shape. The exception is the parasitic Cuscuta, which have tiny, scale-like leaves. So, if your plant has large, funnel-shaped flowers, with marks where the petals were folded in the bud, with bracts beneath the flowers, that has dry capsule fruits and arrow-head-shaped leaves on long, twining stems, then you have a species in the Convolvulaceae. Look out for these three species: Calystegia sepium, hedge bindweed, with white flowers, often covering other plants Convolvulus arvensis, field bindweed, with flowers striped with pink and white Calystegia soldanella, sea bindweed, found on the coast and with pink flowers striped with white [Note, botanical names should always be written in italics (or underlined if handwritten)]