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Evolvulus alsinoides
Also called Slender Dwarf Morningglory, Dwarf Morning Glory, Tropical Speedwell
Slender dwarf morning-glory is a small, low-growing herb with blue flowers, grown in tropical and subtropical gardens and used in Ayurvedic medicine. It is best grown in a warm, sunny spot with fairly moist soil.
Evolvulus alsinoides, commonly known as dwarf morning glory and slender dwarf morning glory, is a flowering plant from the family Convolvulaceae. In Indian ayurveda, it is commonly known as Visnukranta, Vishnukranti or Shankhavel. It has a natural pantropical distribution encompassing tropical and warm-temperate regions of Australasia, Indomalaya, Polynesia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas.
It was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as Convolvulus alsinoides. In 1762, he transferred it to the new genus, Evolvulus.
This herb is used in traditional medicine of East Asia for its purported psychotropic and nootropic properties, although such claims are not medically verified.
Chemical compounds isolated from E. alsinoides include scopoletin, umbelliferone, scopolin, and 2-methyl-1,2,3,4-butanetetrol.
The species inhabits a wide range of habitats, from marshland and wet forests to deserts. A number of varieties and subspecies are recognised. It is one of the plants included in Dasapushpam, the ten sacred flowers of Kerala.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Evolvulus alsinoides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
