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National Invasive Species Information Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture
  1. Home
  2. Aquatic Invasives
  3. Aquatic Plants
  4. Water Spinach

Water Spinach

Scientific Name

Ipomoea aquatica Forssk. (ITIS)

Common Name

Water spinach, swamp morning glory, swamp morningglory

Native To

Asia (Lee 1998)

Date of U.S. Introduction

1950s (Austin 2007)

Means of Introduction

Horticultural escape (Lee 1998)

Impact

Crowds out native species (Lee 1998)

Water spinach

Swamp morning-glory (water spinach), flowers

Credit

Photo by Charles T. Bryson; USDA, Agricultural Research Service

Source
Invasive.org.

Find more images

Distribution / Maps / Survey Status

Federally Regulated

  • Noxious Weeds Program

    • USDA. APHIS. Plant Protection and Quarantine.

    • Includes species listed as a Federal Noxious Weed under the Plant Protection Act, which makes it illegal in the U.S. to import or transport between states without a permit.

Videos

All Resources

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Selected Resources

The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source.

Partnership
Federal Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Professional
Citations