22/05/2018 - Sunspots: Ipomoea hederifolia or Ipomoea coccinea?

Today I noticed this Ipomoea hederifolia var. luteola "Sunspots" with it's first flower almost ready to bloom!

Ipomoea hederifolia var. luteola "Sunspots"

This will officially be the first flower of the season. Somewhat earlier than expected which is great. Can't wait to see and document it! It should be opening tomorrow.

Ipomoea hederifolia var. luteola "Sunspots"

To be completely honest, the species identification of this variety is under scrutinity at the moment. The variety is actually suspected to be Ipomoea coccinea instead of Ipomoea hederifolia. Brought to my attention by the always helpful and informative Convolvulaceae expert Ronald Kushner:

" Almost all of what I see described as 'sunpots' has been Ipomoea coccinea (despite whatever the supplier may have stated otherwise) which has pedicels that reflex , most usually during fruiting, as compared to Ipomoea hederifolia which always has fully erect pedicels, The plant in the photo you posted looks to be Ipomoea coccinea, although I'm sure all the active members of the group would like to see a followup , as to what the pedicels look like on any developing fruit . The flower-bud looks to have the coloration more often associated with Ipomoea coccinea, although maybe not. ..."

So it's quite likely but we'll have to wait for the flowers to set seed to make sure if it's Ipomoea coccinea or not.

I'm also starting to notice a lot of the Ipomoea purpurea getting small flower buds so purpurea blooming season is getting near!