Abutilon indicum (Link) Sweet, Malvaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Sida indica L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: malbas, matbas

English: abutilon, Indian abutilon, Indian mallow

I-Kiribati: te kaura, te kaura ni

Nauruan: ekaura, inen kaura

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "An erect velvety-pubescent subshrub with suborbicular-ovate cordate coarsely crenate-serrate long-petiolate alternate leaves; pubescence of soft stellate pale hairs; flowers solitary in axils, on long pedicels (4-7 cm), usually longer than the petioles; petals orange-yellow, imbricate, deltoid-obovate, 1 cm long or slightly more, staminal-tube hirsute with stellate hairs; fruit circular, of 11-20 radiating carpels, hirsute, brown when dry; each carpel flattened, somewhat boatshaped, apiculate by the short persistent style-remnant, about 8 mm long; seeds reniform and stellate-pubescent"  (Stone, 1970; p. 409).

Habitat/ecology:  "Occurring in disturbed sites at low elevations near the ocean" (Wagner et al., 1999; 873). In Guam, "a rather uncommon plant, appearing in waste ground or around buildings" (Stone, 1970; p. 409).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Southeast Asia, now widespread as a tropical weed (Stone, 1970; p. 409).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Maug Island	introduced	Ohba, T. (1994) (p. 59) Voucher cited: CBM-BS-59173
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Sarigan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Sarigan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Falanruw, M. V. C./Sachet, M.-H. (1975) (p. 32) Voucher cited: Evans 2425 (US, BISH, Fo, NY)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
Cook Islands Northern Cook Islands	Manihiki Atoll		McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Northern Cook Islands	Pukapuka Atoll		McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Mbalavu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1981) (p. 439) Vouchers cited: DA L.13846, L. 14391
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 166-168) subsp. indicum
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Rangiroa (Rairoa) Atoll	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 166-168) subsp. albescens (F.A.W. Miquel) J. Borssum-Waalkes
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Toau (Tovau) Atoll	introduced invasive	Florence, J. (2004) (pp. 166-168) subsp. albescens (F.A.W. Miquel) J. Borssum-Waalkes
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 409) Voucher cited: Stone 4756 (GUAM)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 873) Cultivated, perhaps occasionally naturalized. Voucher referenced: Pearsall 498 Naturalized
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007) Also subsp. guineense (Schumach.) Borss.Waalk
Kiribati Banaba Island	Banaba (Ocean) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
Kiribati Line Islands	Kiritimati (Christmas) Atoll	introduced invasive	Wester, Lyndon (1985) (p. 26) Abutilon albescens Miq.; wrongly indentified as A. indicum (Fosberg, 1943).
Kiribati Tungaru (Gilbert) Islands	Tarawa Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
Palau Sonsorol Group	Sonsorol Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 160)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 63)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 63)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 63)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced	Stoddart, D. R./Taylor, J. D., eds. (1971) (p. 153) Voucher cited: Wiehe in 1939 (MAU)
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Seychelles Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Additional information:  Additional online information about Abutilon indicum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Abutilon indicum may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Florence, J. 2004. Flore de la Polynésie française, Vol. 2. Paris. IRE Editions, Publications Scientifiques, Collection Faune et Flore Tropicales 41. 503 pp.

Fosberg, F. R./Falanruw, M. V. C./Sachet, M.-H. 1975. Vascular flora of the northern Marianas Islands. Smithsonian Contrib. Bot. 22:1-45.

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

Ohba, T. 1994. Flora and vegetation of the northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia. Biological Expedition to the Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia. In A. Asakua & T. Furuki, eds.  Natural History Research, Special issue no. 1, Chiba, Japan: Natural History Museum and Institute. pp. 13-69.

Smith, Albert C. 1981. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 2. 810 pp.

Stoddart, D. R./Taylor, J. D., eds. 1971. Geography and ecology of Diego Garcia Atoll, Chagos Archipelago. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 149. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 237 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

Thaman, R. R. 1987. Plants of Kiribati: a listing and analysis of vernacular names. Atoll Res. Bull. 296:1-42.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Waterhouse, D. F. 1993. The major invertebrate pests and weeds of agriculture in Southeast Asia. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. 141 pp.

Wester, Lyndon. 1985. Checklist of the vascular plants of the northern Line Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Reseach Bulletin 287:1-38.