Advancing knowledge of West African morning glories: a taxonomic revision of <i>Ipomoea</i> L. (Convolvulaceae) from Ghana

Abstract

Abstract Ghana’s plant diversity is estimated at 2,974 plant species, belonging to 1,077 genera and 173 plant families. However, a Flora of Ghana is yet inexistent: targeted floristic and taxonomic studies are still much needed to document the plant diversity of the country fully at the family, generic and species levels. This is essential for identifying priority conservation areas in the country and support further research in crop wild relatives or medicinal plants, which will help tackle food insecurity and improve livelihoods. In this study, we provide a taxonomic revision of the Ipomoea spp. in Ghana to enhance their identification, conservation and sustainable utilization as food and medicine among other uses. An extensive literature review was carried out, including historical references and online taxonomic databases, to recover information on accepted names, type specimens and synonyms, followed by consultation of herbarium specimens at GC herbaria, to retrieve morphological information and database specimens. Specimen locality information was georeferenced, and records plotted onto distribution maps. As a result, this work provides an identification key to the species of Ipomoea of Ghana, nomenclatural information, comprehensive morphological descriptions, detailed list of examined specimens, distribution maps and notes on conservation status and traditional plant uses. In total, 28 species are fully described, 20 of which are native and eight introduced from the Americas; five are new records to Ghana.