39. Ipomoea lacunosa Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 161. 1753.
[E W]
Whitestar
Annuals. Stems twining. Leaf blades cordate-ovate, deltate-ovate, ovate, or 3(–5)-lobed, 30–80 × 20–70 mm, base ± cordate, basal lobes rounded or pointed, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy. Peduncles glabrous, sometimes muricate. Flowers: sepals elliptic-oblong, lanceolate, or lance-ovate, (8–)11–14 mm, chartaceous or coriaceous, margins ciliate, apex acuminate, surfaces glabrous; corolla usually white, limb sometimes pink tinged, funnelform, 15–20(–25) mm. Fruits 10–13 mm diam. 2n = 30.
Flowering Apr–Oct. Disturbed sites, ditches, fields; 0–300 m; Ala., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Md., Mass., Miss., Mo., N.J., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va., W.Va.
Plants of Ipomoea lacunosa are sometimes confused with plants of I. × leucantha, which are derived from hybridization between I. lacunosa and I. cordatotriloba (D. F. Austin and W. E. Abel 1981). Seeds of Ipomoea lacunosa are 5–6 mm and seeds of I. × leucantha are 3.2–4 mm.
Reports of Ipomoea lacunosa for Ontario, California, and New York are apparently based on waifs.
