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Table Summary Fruit and seed morphology, germination and seedling behaviour of 13 taxa of Ipomoea were investigated. Seed and fruit characters were used to construct identification key to the taxa of Ipomoea studied. Mechanical scarification increased seed germination from 35% to 100%. Seeds of Ipomoea pileata subsp. uniflora, I. cairica var. cairica, I. pescaprae subsp. brasiliensis and I. carnea subsp. fistulosa observed a period of dormancy ranging from three to over six months in soil. The first foliage leaf appeared between the fith and twelth day of cotyledon emergence from the soil. Growth rate (measured by the rate of leaf productuion over time) was highest in I. quamoclit and least in I. asarifolia. The time and leaf stage at which stem became decumbent varied among the taxa. The truncate leaf bases of first and second leaves of I. ugborea and I. obscura were probably more primitive than the common subsequent and adult cordate leaves of most Ipomoea taxa and suggest common ancestry of the two species.

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Morphometric and qualitative characters of matured cotyledons of 18 taxa of Ipomoea were assessed to determine their value for identification at seedling stage. The characters examined include cotyledon colour, texture, indumentum, basal‐apical notch distance, shape and dimensions. A key for the identification of the taxa based on these characters is presented.