Ipomoea batatas i.e., Sweet Potato has edible leaves, roots and flowers...the only parts which are not considered 'edible' are the seeds which in the case of Ipomoea batatas do NOT contain any LSA but act as a laxative / purgative.

The ornamental varieties of Ipomoea batatas available are also totally edible.

The vines may need to be trained or tied because they don't usually climb...

You might consider other vines which are attractive and very edible.

Thanks! We're totally frustrated by the conflicting poisonous/non-poisonous thing on vines. Just healed in some Nasturtium next to that new arbor while we figure it out? My understanding is that Ipomoea family also includes Morning Glories which supposedly have 'poisonous' leaves. Of course I thing tomato plants are poisonous for that matter and our Golden Retriever is smart enough to not test that!!

S

Hey Steve,

Well, despite whatever generalized guidelines or 'myths' that you may choose to be guided by , Ipomoea batatas is edible as I described.

May I hope to increase your understanding of Convolvulaceae and particular species e.g., Ipomoea batatas (?)

The Botanical name for the Morning Glory Family is Convolvulaceae which contain approx. 55 genera included in the Family...so, Ipomoea is a genus and in this case batatas in the (species) epithet of the binomial..

I focus exclusively on plants within the Convolvulaceae Family and although there are toxic plants in every Family , there are many species in the MG Family which are used for food and medicinals.

I'll re-state it again regarding Ipomoea batatas...the leaves and flowers are TOTALLY and COMPLETELY edible raw...they are used in salads around the world.

I have eaten the leaves of Ipomoea batatas many , many times and without any ill affects , in fact the leaves of all the species within the series batatas (species closely related to Ipomoea batatas) are non-toxic , they may not all be palatable , but they are not known to be toxic.

So, this would include Ipomoea cordatotriloba and Ipomoea lacunosa.

I'm interested to dispel the MYTHS about the MG Family and can back up what I say with peer reviewed studies.

You could try doing a search of the professional peer reviewed literature at the National Library of Medicine using PubMed / Medline if you still have your doubts.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

selected extracts from the link below

The young leaves and vine tips of sweet potato leaves are widely consumed as a vegetable in West African countries (Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, for example), as well as in northeastern Uganda, East Africa.[31]
According to FAO leaflet No. 13 - 1990, sweet potato leaves and shoots are a good source of vitamins A, C, and B2 (riboflavin), and according to research done by A. Khachatryan, are an excellent source of lutein.

The leaves of sweet potatoes are usually stir-fried with only garlic or with sambal belacan and dried shrimp by Malaysians.

Young leaves and shoots (locally known as talbos ng kamote or camote tops) are eaten fresh in salads with shrimp paste (bagoong alamang) or fish sauce. They can be cooked in vinegar and soy sauce and served with fried fish (a dish known as adobong talbos ng kamote), or with recipes such as sinigang.[35] The stew obtained from boiling camote tops is purple-colored, and is often mixed with lemon as juice.

Young sweet potato leaves are also used as baby food particularly in Southeast Asia and East Asia.[52][53]

All parts of the plant are used for animal fodder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_potato

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1999/v4-388.html
selected extracts from the above link

Leafy tops eaten as vegetable and sold in markets in Malaysia. Greatly esteemed as feed for farm animals; with 3 kg green sweet potatoes equivalent to 1 kg of corn, with a food value rated 95- "100% that of corn. Dry vines have feed value which compares favorably with alfalfa hay as forage (Reed, 1976).

The leaves of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) are used as a potherb in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and locally in Latin America. It is an important foodstuff for the highland population of New Guinea. Sweet potato leaves are considered as a cheap and coarse vegetable. Stems and leaves are used as forage.

Sweet potato merits a place in tropical gardens because it is easy to culture and yields edible tubers as well as leaves.

Hope you find the correct information for the plants you are looking for...

regards,

Ron

Here is a link that might be useful: Ipomoea batatas Sweet Potato root and leaves are edible

This post was edited by ron_convolvulaceae on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 0:07

Ron - I am so glad you are on these forums. It's a treat to hear from a real expert and enthusiast.

I hope this isn't a daft question but I have a Calystegia sepium problem on my allotment. Do you think I can eat it? Revenge would be sweet.

This post was edited by flora_uk on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 16:22

flora - Thanks for voicing your opinion and question but I really prefer not to to hijack Steve's thread or his topic.

He asked , I answered, he doubted, I backed it up.

My apologies to Steve for any off-topic posting.

Calystegia sepium roots are used as a famine food for short periods of time but generally they aren't edible, although if the leaves and roots are completely shredded (e.g., in a juicer) rendering the material into tiny mashed pieces (beyond any possible re-growth) , the resultant mash makes for a good fertilizer.

Please contact me via private message or start a thread on your topic (s) and I will do my best to respond.

My apologies to Steve for any off-topic posting.

Thanks Ron! We'll start our search for an Ipomoea supplier. Any mail order you would recommend?

Take care,

S

Steve,

Remember I specifically stated Ipomoea batatas and other species in the Batatas series.

The ornamental I.batatas are readily available from many garden centers and the varieties with the very dark variously shaped leaves look nice offset by the types with very light green leaves...

'Ace of Spades' - dark heart leaves
'Blackie' - dark multi-lobed leaves
'Carolina Purple' - dark multi-lobed leaves
'Lace'- dark multi-lobed leaves

'Margarita' - light green heart leaves

You might need to hang/ place containers at different levels on the arbor as the Ornamental Sweet Potatoes usually don't get very long and they will need support 'climbing' as they are non-twining trailers...perhaps a covering of chicken wire or a similar mesh would provide the trailers something to lay on / against.

Ipomoea cordatotriloba and Ipomoea lacunosa are climbers.

The last 2 species I mentioned can usually be found on ebay...

regards,

Ron

Thanks, Ron. Sorry I wandered off the strict topic. We do often have extended conversations sparked by threads on these forums and it was to do with toxicity of vines, so I felt it was connected. I'll know not to err again.

Our dog eats from our neighbor's cape honeysuckle daily. Dark leaves orange/red flower. Its supposedly edible for humans and I haven't seen anything indicating its poisonous for dogs. And our dog is fine.

Also, I've never known a dog to poison itself. There's normally plenty around to kill em if they didn't somehow know better. Oleander for example.

flora - I realize that initial topics can often diverge (slowly or quickly) into interesting areas, and I'm OKay with it as long as the starter of the thread is OKay with it and somehow indicates that....

Calystegia related issues can quickly turn into a "How does a person get rid of it" type of thing etc., and having seen that happen before , I thought it best to stay focused on the most current post, which was the edibility of the I.batatas leaves and allow any divergences not to be be initiated by me unless sanctioned by the thread starter...

I'm just trying to be respectful of the starter of the thread(s) (because it is their thread) and being the owner of 2 groups devoted to MG's, where staying on topic is important for basic organization., I personally prefer to remain as close as possible , to the latest posts of the owner of the thread.

Please be assured that there is no disrespect intended towards you or anybody else and I'm just trying to err on the side of being respectful to the owner of the thread and accept full responsibility for anything that I post...

best regards,

Ron

This post was edited by ron_convolvulaceae on Wed, May 1, 13 at 8:49

Thanks Ron and others! Ron, I don't personally object to some wandering on this thread but I applaud your effort to remain on topic! I have observed some forums that has been just terrible in that regard so Flora please understand.

Take care,

Steve

"some wandering" get's the Green Light .(!)

Thanks Steve (!)

To "shaneatwell:" thanks for the mention of your dogs eating Cape Honeysuckle with no consequences but I have to say as a former Veterinary Technician, making statements such as "I've never known a dog to poison itself" can be irresponsible. Sure, you stated YOU'VE never know a dog to poison itself but you need to know that dogs "poison themselves" ALL the time. They lap up antifreeze that can kill them, they'll eat an entire plate of chocolate fudge if given the opportunity and chocolate in that amount is highly toxic to dogs, and they WILL chew on toxic parts of plants in a heartbeat. They do NOT know what is bad for them a lot of times so their guardians need to take heed and make sure the dog's environment is safe for them. Maybe you've just been lucky. Maybe the reason your dog didn't get sick is because of his size and what he eats could kill a Chihuahua. It is dangerous for people to use such incorrectly broad statements when referring to the health and well-being of animals, especially dogs since they do NOT have the instincts about such things as wild animals seem to. Just sayin.