Ipomoea purga

Botanical Description

Ipomoea purga ia a stout, perennial herb, producing annual stems from a large, fusiform, tuberous rootstock[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. ]. These stems scramble over the ground or twine into nearby vegetation for support. An important medicinal herb, jalap is widely used in modern medicine as a laxative and purgative. The medicinal properties of the roots have been known since pre-Conquest times, being first introduced into Europe in the mid-16th century. Initially the large natural populations were exploited, though the high demand forced cultivation in Mexico beginning in the mid-19th cent[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ]. Cultivation has spread, on a more limited scale, to several other tropical American countries and also to India, Indonesia etc, whilst the plant has at times also been cultivated as an ornamental in glasshouses in Europe and elsewhere[ 317 Title Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants Publication Author Website http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Terse details of a huge range of useful plants. ].