Ipomoea triloba, a new exotic species for the Iberian peninsula
Ipomoea triloba (Convolvulaceae) is an annual vine climber, with long stems of up to 5 m and numerous pinkish flowers. This plant is native from Central America and was introduced into East and South-East United States (Arizona, California, Florida and North Carolina), Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Indonesia, Thailand, Hawaii and Australia. It is considered by the Global Compendium of Weeds as a noxious weed and a quarantine weed. It is considered as a noxious weed in rice and cotton fields by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture.
In Spain, it was recorded in October 2002 near Sevilla (Andalucía) covering more than 1 km of the eutrophised Barbolí water course. The spread of the plant is being controlled by farmers with different phytosanitary products to which the plant is sensible. Individual plants can cover more than 1 m², they flower abundantly from July to November and produce many fertile seeds (200-228 plantules found per m²). Ipomoae indica, I. purpurea and I. hederacea are already considered as invasive in some Mediterranean countries. It seems that I. triloba is a potentially invasive plant which should be monitored and contained by the authorities, and even eradicated whenever possible.
Sources
Silvestre S (2004) Ipomoea triloba L. (Convolvulaceae) una nueva especie aloctona para la Peninsula. Lagascalia 24 ,63-66.
The Global Compendium of Weeds. http://www.hear.org/gcw/alpha_select_gcw.htm