Imperialis? Morning glory

I would like to have an idea on what actually constitutes an "Imperialis" morning glory.

I ask because I received an email today from an eBay seller who objected to me using the name Imperialis in an eBay auction, claiming that the name was not used by any commercial seed companies (which I know for a fact to be false), and said that it was a name SHE gave to her Chocolate MG's due to the star in the center. Is there a better name for these? I am not backing down from this person, but want to be correct in my auction listings, so not to add to the JMG confusion

Thanks
Janis

Even I, who are new to MG:s have seen the word Imperialis when I googled, both on private sites and commercial.
Here you have two google sites one with pictures and one text, send it to that seller and ask him/her to stop.
http://images.google.se/images?hl=sv&q=%22Imperialis%22%20morning%20glory&btnG=Google-s%C3%B6kning&sa=N&tab=wi
http://www.google.se/search?hl=sv&q=%22Imperialis%22+morning+glory&btnG=Google-s%C3%B6kning&meta=

Janett

Hi Janis,

Well,it would seem that there is some misperception taking place on the origin and usage of the term Ipomoea 'imperialis'...

Here is what is in the database
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/55110/
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/84692/

Here is what google pulled up

http://www.google.com/search?q=+%22Ipomoea+imperialis%22&num=100&hl=en&lr=&as_qdr=all&filter=0

The 'imperialis' term per se,seems to be a common fuzzy term that has no particular copyright,franchise or anything remotely connected to any of these legal concepts...

My experience of the usage of the term Ipomoea 'imperialis' is that 'imperialis' is used to designate any morning glory of unclear parentage due to the amount of hybridizing that has taken place with the various Japanese morning glories....it could be considered to be tantamount to the term 'mutt' or 'mixed breed' ...as there is no ultra-specific explicit denotational meaning to the term Ipomoea 'imperialis'.

There are many companies all over the world who use the term Ipomoea imperialis to refer to a large number of morning glories,especially where the exact species is not known.

There are various International Scientific Commitees that are co-ordinated through the United Nations and other cooperatives(e.g.,IOPI,IPNI) who have as one of their purposes to agree on the scientific terms that will be recognized internationally as legitimate.

The useage of accepted international terminology is particularly crucial to effectively communicating about subjects that have a very scientific foundation.

There is no legitimate species epithet in the Ipomoea genus designated by the term 'imperialis'.

Ipomoea 'imperialis' is a very fuzzy term used to indicate that the exact species is unknown and/or of suppossed Japanese origin.

So What is a 'Japanese' Morning Glory(?)...is it any Ipomoea nil,Ipomoea purpurea or Ipomoea hederacea.(?)...obviously not,since these are all New World species...

A Japanese Morning Glory could refer to a very wide range of MG's that have been cultivated for a variety of features like a larger flower and color variations in both the corolla and in the leaves...

Japan has a cultural history of cultivating Morning Glories or asagao and has developed a large number of interesting variations of colors and shapes...these are sometimes collectively referred to as the 'imperial' morning glory,presumeably due to the Emperor Hirohito having an avid interest in these asagao...

The Japanese morning glories are of 3 main legitimate species and/or hybrids of the following

1) Ipomoea nil - a species that is internationally recognized to have originated in South America

2) Ipomoea purpurea - A species that originated in the area of Central/South America

3) Ipomoea hederacea - a species that originated in Central America


The 3 species mentioned above have been inter-specifically hybridized by Dr.Yoshiaki Yoneda and others and determinging the exact species of a JMG can be difficult,but very close observation of the exact shape of the sepals,at all stages of sepal developement will often indicate the exact species,or the primary dominant species in an inter-specific hybrid.

The "Mini Bar Rose" that is often called Ipomoea imperialis or Ipomoea nil,in fact shows the distinct outward curling of the sepals most closely matching Ipomoea hederacea.

There are many terms that are considered as outdated by accepted modern international standards to refer to the various genera in the Convolvulaceae family of plants, and the term Pharbitis is just one such outdated term often still used by people who have no knowledge or interest to use accepted terminology to refer to the genus Ipomoea.


Candy Pink and Scarlett O'Hara are examples of Ipomoea nil developed in the USA that are sometimes referred to as Japanese or 'imperial' morning glories...

There is also a mistaken notion that simply because a packet of seeds originates in Japan,that the seeds carry some 'magickal' guarentee of being what is advertised by the seller or on the packet pictorial...Well(!)...those of us who have purchased from a variety of Japanese companies and dealers know that there is at least as much variation,mutation and mistakes present in seeds from Japan,as there are from any other sources...

Who(!) has gotten an 'Orange' chachamaru as clearly depicted on the Sakata packet,nobody(!) that I have ever known ...and many people have had first hand experience of seeds being different colors like striped or solids when the exact opposite was advertised...

Seeds that are guarenteed to be from Japan are just that...'from japan'...and carefull hand pollination as being increasingly practised by US enthusiasts seems to offer a greater guarentee than any commercial product from any country...


The interest in the 'Japanese style' of MG's is still relatively new to the USA and as larger numbers of people become interested in growing these,a much larger number of variations in the MG's can be be expected to develop...

There are many other species of MG's to work with in the developement of new types aside from the very few that have traditionally been grown in Japan and I am looking forward to seeing the new types that will come out of the US and other countries as well as those from Japan...

TTY,...

Ron

Hey, Ron. Great answer! I like your analogy of the use of "Imperialis" and "mutt". I think you are so right. We are going to have bunches of "mutts" as the JMG craze runs it's course!!!

Thanks so very much Ron... I realy appreciate you clearing this up :)

Janis

Great thread! I have a collection of old gardening books,and dating from the forties to the present,many of them use the term"imperialis" interchangebly with"nil"..i.e.'Climbers and Ground Covers',copyright 1947...."The Japanese call the Morning-Glory Asagao,and it is one of the species,I.nil (imperialis),to which they have given particular attention...."
Taylor's Encyclopedia of Gardening,copyright 1961...."imperialis=Ipomoea Nil."
my personal favorite is "Ipomoea bona-nox"- the old name for Ipomoea Alba.

Thanks for the great summary, Ron! You validated my own perception of this, as I learn more about these plants and their intriguing history. - Arlan

Ron, you definitely explained it well so that I could understand...lol.
You stick by your guns, Janis.
:) Donna

Janis please DMail me

Tina

Great thread! Answered a question I had about 'Cameo Elegance' from Thompson-Morgan, which is listed as I. x imperialis. It also looks like pictures I've seen of 'Mini Rose Bar,' but I'm not sure if they're the same. Does anyone know?

Denise

~ bump ~

Great essay here by Ron about what makes a JMG a JMG, for those, like me, who needed the "'splaining".

I myself rely on the actual phyiscal properties of the plant, not on the "name" that I've bought it by. There are a couple of individuals on eBay who are selling their products under the wrong name, and even though they've been informed otherwise, choose not to call a spade a spade. It's misleading to the consumer and confusing to those who are trying to inform themselves.

As for the "purity" of the packets that I've gotten from Japan--pffftttt! You're more likely to get a few pleasant surprises than a straight packet of the color you've bought. Some of my best ones have been the strays!

Stacey