Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lamk.

 
  • Family : CONVOLVULACEAE
    (Morning-Glory Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : KALADANA FAMILY (कालादाना फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Convolvulaceae
  • Basionym : Convolvulus batatas L.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.
  • Common name : Sweet potato, Boniato, Camote, Sweet Potato
  • Vernacular name :
    • Shakar kendi (Hindi)
    • Genasu gedde (Kannada)
    • Sarkaravalli, Kilangu (Tamil)
    • Chilakada dumpa, Chelagada, Genasugadda (Telugu)
    • Kandumulo (Oria)
    • Cheenikizhangu, Chakkarakizhangu, Kappakizhangu, Madurakizhangu, Mathurakizhangu, Sarkarakizhangu (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Comments / notes : Mostly cultivated, sometimes as an escape. Tubers are edible
  • Key identification features : Creeping herb, roots tuberous
  • Flower, Fruit : October-April
  • Distribution :
    • Kerala : Wayanad (Vythiri)
    • Maharashtra : Mumbai Suburban district, Mumbai-City district
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Lohit, Siang
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panamá, Venezuela
  • Exotic/Native : Exotic
  • World Distribution : Cultivated throughout the tropics
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2011 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 4
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 2
    • Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • G.S Giri., A.Pramanik., H.J. Chowdhery., G.D Pal and S.K. Das (2008). Materials for Arunachal Pradesh, Vol (2), Pg: 194
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Ipomoea batatas
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Ipomoea batatas. Downloaded on 26 January 2026.

Botanical Description

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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