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3 Young stems densely white-hairy; leaf undersurfaces white-hairy; corollas cream-white, with pale yellow pleats and with maroon markings in the tube, 2.5-3 cm long
4 Corollas salverform, the long narrow tube cylindrical (with sides more-or-less parallel) for most of its length, the limb abruptly flaring at the summit of the tube.
5 Corollas 3-15 cm long, predominantly lavender to white; flowers open from evening until early morning.
6 Leaves tomentose beneath; corolla mostly white on the outer surface, lavender to purple on the inner surface, thus bicoloredin-and-out; [of outer Coastal Plain dunes, hammocks, and shell middens from se. NC southward]
6 Leaves glabrous (or with scattered hairs or large fleshy hairlike structures) beneath; corolla either white on both surfaces or lavender on both surfaces, not bicoloredin-and-out; [weedy, widespread, of disturbed habitats].
4 Corollas funnelform, the short to long tube expanding in diameter upwards from below the middle, the limb gradually to abruptly flaring at the summit of the tube.
15 Pedicels and peduncles with spreading, ascending, or reflexed trichomes; gynoecium 3-parted; sepals 8-25 (-30) mm long; corollas deep purple to rich blue or light blue (rarely white or bright pink), the tube and throat lighter in color (white or yellow); [Pharbitisclade].
16 Sepals soft-pilose on the outer surface with slender trichomes
17Corolla blue with a white tube (drying pink); sepals ovate with an elongate or caudateapex longer than the sepal body, notably accrescent in fruit; leaves usually 3-lobed.
18 Sepals < 2 cm long at anthesis, abruptly narrowed upwards, the long subacute tips strongly spreading or recurved outwards; corolla < 3.5 cm long; peduncles very short.
18 Sepals ca. 3 cm long at anthesis, gradually narrowed upwards, the long acute tips suberect, straight, scarcely spreading; corolla 4-4.5 cm long; peduncles long or short
15 Pedicels and peduncles glabrous or with short, appressed trichomes; gynoecium 2-parted; sepals 4-15 mm long; corollas mainly pink, lavender, or white, the tube and throat mainly deeper pink, purple, or maroon (but some species – I. tricolor, I. aristolochiifolia -- blue with white or yellow throats).
19 Leaves palmately, pinnately, or pedately compound or pseudocompound (so deeply parted as to appear superficially compound).
20 Leaves pedately compound, the leaflets or segments 1.5-3 mm wide; corollas 1-1.2 cm long, white; [TX]
20 Leaves palmately or pedately compound, the leaflets or segments 3-10 mm wide; corollas 1.8-6 cm long, lavender, pink, or purplish.
21 Corollas 4-6 cm long; pedicels 1-2.5 cm long, straight; leaves pinnatelydissected (the pair of lobes about the basal pair diverging from the midvein several mm above the basal pair); axillary buds developing stipule-like leaves
24 Corollas lavender; larger leaves not lobed (though notched at the apex on at least the larger, better-developed leaves of I. brasiliensis)
25 Leaves rounded, acute, or short-acuminate at the apex; sepals unequal, the outer 5-6 mm long, , thicker and about 1/2 as long as the herbaceous inner sepals
24 Corollas white with a white or purple throat (I. aquatica) or yellow or purple throat (I. imperati); larger leaves either hastate (I. aquatica) or 3-7-lobed (I. imperati).
30 Leaves glabrous; sepals oval, 8-9 mm long, apexobtuse to rounded, mucronulate, coriaceous, glabrous; corollas 5-6 cm long; [widespread in the outer Coastal Plain from ne. NC south to s. FL, west to s. TX, and scattered elsewhere as an introduction]
34 Sepals 6-15 mm long; seeds with surface glabrous, the angles sometimes short pubescent; capsules subglobose, 4-8 mm long; [BatatasClade].
35 Corollas 2-4.5 cm long, 2.2-3.2 cm in diameter across the limb, at least partly pink to lavender (or entirely white in I. batatas); seeds shortly pubescent on the angles.
36 Sepals more-or-less equal in length, oblong-lanceolate, with acuminateapices; leaves 2-5 cm wide; [native, widespread in the southern portion of our region, especially in the Coastal Plain].