Ipomoea plummerae Gray
Family: Convolvulaceae
Synonyms: Ipomoea egregia House; Ipomoea cuneifolia
Gray; Ipomoea plummerae Gray var. cuneifolia (Gray)
MacBride
Distribution: "This is a Mexican (Coahuila, Chihuahua,
Sonora) species reaching its northern limits in Arizona and New
Mexico" (Austin 1990); New Mexico, Grant, Lincoln,
Otero, San Miguel, Sierra, Socorro counties (Austin 1990); also
Catron and Cibola counties (see below); Arizona; Apache,
Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, Santa Cruz, and
Yavapai counties (Austin 1991).
Habitat: Sedimentary outcrops and kipukas at El Malpais
National Monument (pers. obs.); pinyon-juniper zone, on pale rather
barren bedrock outcrop (Soreng & Spellenberg 1981).
Plants Seen or Cited:
Specimens at UNM (All were annotated by D.F. Austin; when
initially identified incorrectly, most were called I. muricata;
none was previously identified as I. egregia; Fletcher
notes on the labels of some of his collections of I. plummerae
that I. egregia grew with the former and that the latter
is a slight variation of it.):
1. O.M. Clark. No. 10453. 16 August 1942. Grant county. Cliffs
in Black Range east of Santa Rita.
2. O.M. Clark. No. 15598. 13 August 1950. Catron county. West
of Luna.
3. Hutchins. No. 3868. 3 August 1972. Lincoln county. 7600 ft.
Near Eagle Creek, 6 mi west of Alto, White Mountains.
4. Hutchins. No. 3905. 5 August 1972. Lincoln county. 6800 ft.
Bonito Lake road, 3 mi west of Angus.
5. Hutchins. No. 3850. 9 July 1972. Lincoln county. 7480 ft. South
fork of Eagle Creek, ½ mi west of Alto.
6. Fletcher. No. 2672. 24 August 1977. Catron county. Just below
Billy Knight Spring.
7. Fletcher. No. 4908. 10 September 1980. Grant county. 6500 ft.
Near route 853 on west side of Bear Mountain, T17S, R15W, sec
11 ne 1/4.
8. Fletcher. No. 4917. 11 September 1980. Grant county. 6600 ft.
West side of Bear Mountain.
9. Hutchins. No. 10249. 12 August 1982. Sierra county. 7700 ft.
Sawmill Peak area.
Other collections:
10. Bleakly. No. HIDD-P5. 14 August 1991. Cibola county. El Malpais
National Monument.
11. Bleakly. No. MEBL-P22. 14 August 1991. Cibola county. El Malpais
National Monument.
12. Bleakly. No. OFFS-P49. 14 August 1992. Cibola county. El Malpais
National Monument.
13. Bleakly. No. 2326. 22 August 1996. Cibola county. El Malpais
National Monument.
Discussion: Austin (1990) and USDA (1994) consider Ipomoea
egregia to be a synonym of I. plummerae which they
believe has no subspecific representatives. However, Soreng and
Spellenberg (1981) and Yatskievych and Mason (1984) consider that
I. egregia is at least a distinct variety of I. plummerae
if not a separate species. In this summary, Austin's opinion is
followed although a consensus on the taxonomic status of the plant
and its relationships to similar species has not been reached.
Austin does not consider Ipomoea plummerae to be rare in the
United States or New Mexico (Austin 1990, 1992). Austin (1990
and 1991) sites exsiccata from a number of counties in New Mexico
and Arizona and there are several specimens at UNM. Consequently,
this plant should not be considered for special protection in
New Mexico and should be added to L4.
RECOMMENDATION: Add to L4 (Relatively common in New Mexico
and throughout its range)
Important Literature:
Austin, D.F. 1990. Annotated checklist of New Mexican Convolvulaceae.
Sida 14(2):273-286.
Austin, D.F. 1991. Annotated checklist of Arizona Convolvulaceae.
Sida 14(3):443-457.
Austin, D.F. 1992. Rare Convolvulaceae in the Southwestern United
States. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard., 1992, 79:8-16.
Soreng, R.J. and R. Spellenberg. 1981. Noteworthy collections:
Ipomoea egregia House (Convolvulaceae). Madroño
28:87.
US Department of Agriculture. 1994. Plants of New Mexico-alphabetical
listing. Soil Conservation Service, Information Resources Management
Division. Fort Collins, CO.
Yatskievych, G. and C.T. Mason, Jr. 1984. A taxonomic study of
Ipomoea tenuiloba Torrey (Convolvulaceae), with notes on related
species. Madroño 31(2):102-108.
Information Compiled By: David L. Bleakly, 1998
