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Evolvulus nummularius

Evolvulus nummularius, also known as the dwarf morning glory, is a species of flowering plant in the morning-glory family. It is an annual or perennial plant.

Last revised
Jun 23, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
331 w
Citations
6
Source
Evolvulus nummularius
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Spermatophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Evolvulus
Species:
E. nummularius
Binomial name
Evolvulus nummularius
(L.) L.

Evolvulus nummularius, also known as the dwarf morning glory, is a species of flowering plant in the morning-glory family. It is an annual or perennial plant.1

Distribution

The plant is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, extending across large parts of tropical Africa, South Africa, and Madagascar.2 It is considered a naturalized alien plant in Taiwan and the Tiwi Islands of Australia.3

Uses

The plant is used as a mild sedative and has anthelmintic properties.4 In Indian traditional medicines it is used for treating burns, cuts, wounds, scorpion stings, and as an anthelmintic.5 Phytochemical investigations of the aerial parts of E. nummularius have identified several bioactive constituents such as β-sitosterol, glucoside, stigmasterol, d-mannitol, ursolic acid, and oleanolic acid. In addition, three previously unreported compounds were isolated and structurally elucidated using spectroscopic and chemical methods, comprising derivatives of stigmastane, coumaroyl, and ursane.6

References

References

  1. "Evolvulus nummularius (L.) L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
  2. Schmelzer, G.H. & Bunyapraphatsara, N. 2001. Evolvulus alsinoides (L.) L. – In: van Valkenburg, J.L.C.H. & Bunyaprabhatsara, N. (eds), Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 12: Medicinal and Poisonous Plants 2. Backhuys Publ., Leiden, Netherlands, 258-260
  3. Iqbal IM, Shabbir A, Shabbir K, Barkworth ME, Firdaus-e-Bareen and Khan SM. (2020). Evolvulus nummularius (L.) L. (Convolvulaceae): a new alien plant record for Pakistan. BioInvasions Records. 9(4): 702-711.
  4. Lakshminarayana, G. and Raju, A.J., 2017. Reproductive biology and ecology of Evolvulus alsinoides and Evolvulus nummularius (Convolvulaceae). Phytologia Balcanica, 23(3).
  5. Iqbal IM, Shabbir A, Shabbir K, Barkworth ME, Firdaus-e-Bareen and Khan SM. (2020). Evolvulus nummularius (L.) L. (Convolvulaceae): a new alien plant record for Pakistan. BioInvasions Records. 9(4): 702-711.
  6. Sahu PK and Gupta S. (2014). Medicinal plants of morning glory: Convolvulaceae Juss., of Central India (Madhya Pradesh & Chhattishgarh). Biolife. 2(2): 463-469.