Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth var. major

Horticultural & Botanical History

‘Is an annual plant which grows naturally in Asia and America, but has long been cultivated for ornament in the English gardens, and is generally known by the title of convolvulus major.’  [Miller, quoted in BM t.113/1790].  Introduced to Britain in 1629.  [PD].  Paxton’s lists the varieties caerulea, blue; incarnata, pink; leucantha, white; and varia, striped.  The latter is figured in Curtis’s botanical Magazine.  [BM t.1682/1814].  Ipomoea Burridgi is perhaps typical of the several varieties available to Victorian gardeners, this from a description of annuals: ‘This plant resembles the common Convolvulus Major, of which it is a variety.  It is a profuse bloomer, with rosy-pink flowers, melting into white in the centre.  It is well adapted for covering trellis work.’  [Gard. Chron. 1855].   Flore des Serres beautifully figured a number of colour forms under the name Pharbitis hispida, including violacea.  [FS f.1079/1856].

History at Camden Park

Listed in all published catalogues [H.81/1843].  Common in the Camden area including occasionally in the gardens.  A common weed in parts of Australia, including the Sydney region.  [Beadle].  A wide range of colour forms occur locally, ranging from white, through pink to deep purple, including a form very similar to that shown here.

Notes

Convolvulus major Gilib. (before 1814) = Calystegia sepium (L.) R.Br., an Australian species that is known in the Camden area, but this is unlikely to be Macarthur’s plant.