Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd., Fabaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results: 

Reject, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment (Australia))
High risk, score: 12 (Go to the risk assessment (Pacific))

Other Latin names:  Desmanthus depressus Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.; Desmanthus virgatus var. depressus (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) B. L. Turner; Mimosa virgata L.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: slender mimosa, virgate mimosa

French: sensitive de Montravel

Spanish: guajillo, guashillo, huarangillo

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Prostrate, decumbent, or erect herbaceous perennials to 1.5 m tall, much branched from the base.  Taproot 50 cm long, 1-2 cm in diameter, cylindrical, woody, gnarled, bark brown, corky.  Young stems angled, green with red or golden corky ridges, glabrous or sparsely pubescent with white hairs; older stems terete, red or brown, glabrous and shiny.  Stipules persistent, 2.1-9.0 mm long, setiform with a membranous, nerved auricle opposite the petiole, glabrous or pubescent.  Leaves 2.4-8.0 cm long, petiole 1-5 mm long, rachis 7-36 mm long, puberulent; pinnae 2-5 pairs, 11-30 mm long, the lowest pair bearing an orbicular, sessile, crateriform nectary 0.3-1.2 mm long; leaflets 11-23 pairs, nearly sessile, 2.4-7.0 mm long, 0.7-1.6 mm wide, linear-oblong, square-oblique basally, rounded to acute apically, glabrous, finely ciliate along the margin with white hairs, venation obscure except excentric midvein.  Heads 1 per leaf axil, borne on peduncles 0.6-4.0 cm long.  Bract subtending each flower 1.0-2.2 mm long, 0.4-0.8 mm wide, deltate, pale green with red tips, membranous with an opaque midvein, peltate and pedicellate at the center of the head, sessile and often fused into a whorl at the base of the head, strongly 1-nerved, glabrous or minutely ciliolate.  Floral buds obovate, apically rounded.  Heads 0.3-1.0 cm long containing 3-22 sterile, functionally make, and perfect flowers, sterile or male flowers sometimes absent.  Sterile flowers 0-8; calyx 0.6-1.2 mm long, 0.4-1.0 mm wide, 5-lobed, widely obconic, pale green with white margins; petals 1.5-2.0 mm long, 0.25-0.50 mm wide, obovate to oblanceolate, membranous, faintly 1-nerved, white or pale green with white margins; staminodia 10, 1.7-7.5 mm long, the same width as the filaments of the functional stamens to 3 times as wide, white.  Male flowers usually absent, rarely 1, borne above the sterile flowers, lacking an ovary, but with a perianth and androecium like that of the perfect flowers.  Perfect flowers 3-14; calyx 1.5-3.0 mm long, obconic, the tube 1.5-2.6 mm long, 0.6-1.4 mm wide, rimmed with free acute lobes 0.2-1.0 mm long, pale green with white margins, glabrous; petals 2.4-4.0 mm long, 0.4-0.8 mm wide, oblanceolate, green with red or purple tips, glabrous; stamens 10, rarely 5, 3.5-7.0 mm long, anthers eglandular; ovary 1.5-2.4 mm long, linear, glabrous, style 1.9-4.4 mm long, not exserted beyoind the stamens.  Fruiting peduncles 1.0-5.2 cm long bearing 1-11 pods; legumes dehiscent along both sutures; pod 2.2-8.8 cm long, 2.5-4.0 mm wide, linear, straight or slightly falcate, tips acute, rarely attenuate into a short beak to 1 mm, valves chartaceous, convex, glabrous, reddish brown to nearly black at maturity, somewhat wrinkled with raised reticulate veins.  Seeds 9-27 per pod, 2.1-2.9 mm long, 1.4-2.7 mm wide, obliquely inserted, ovate, flattened, red- or golden-brown; pleurogram 0.6-1.1 mm wide, 0.3-1.0 mm deep, U-shaped to lunate, symmetrical" (Luckow, 1993; pp. 134-139).

See Desmanthus pernambucanus for Pacific introductions of Desmanthus.

Habitat/ecology:  In its native range, "in heavily disturbed areas such as railroad tracks, pastures, roadsides, and even city streets, in coastal thickets and on beaches; 0-1900 m, primarily a lowland species but introduced at higher elevations"  (Luckow, 1993; pp. 134-139).  Arid lowlands and moist uplands in the Galápagos Islands (McMullen, 1999; p. 186).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Texas and Florida, U.S.A., eastern and southern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America"  (Luckow, 1993; pp. 134-139).

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	Agrigan (Agrihan) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 92)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 92)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1956) (voucher ID: BISH 82190) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 33)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 593649) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1980) (voucher ID: BISH 660431) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Galápagos Islands	Galápagos Islands	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 139)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Weno (Moen) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1977) (voucher ID: BISH 422286) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Weno (Moen) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1980) (voucher ID: BISH 660524) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Weno (Moen) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1980) (voucher ID: BISH 660525) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Weno (Moen) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1965) (voucher ID: BISH 660526) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Denslow, Julie S./Nelson, Duane/Waguk, Erick E. (2000) (p. Voucher specimen) Voucher: BMW 5769 (BISH, BRI, GUAM)
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (2000) (voucher ID: BISH 687713) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1980) (voucher ID: BISH 660536) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1987) (voucher ID: BISH 540435) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 558053) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1988) (voucher ID: BISH 1000416) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1982) (voucher ID: BISH 492846) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
French Polynesia Tuamotu Archipelago	Tikehau (Tikahau) Atoll		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1984) (voucher ID: BISH 546531) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
French Polynesia Tubuai (Austral) Islands	Rurutu Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1983) (voucher ID: BISH 552794) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 92)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1965) (voucher ID: BISH 82119) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1962) (voucher ID: BISH 154243) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 154244) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1957) (voucher ID: BISH 154245) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1963) (voucher ID: BISH 154246) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1953) (voucher ID: BISH 572967) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1983) (voucher ID: BISH 649576) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1980) (voucher ID: BISH 660282) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1983) (voucher ID: BISH 1000249) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced invasive	Toyoda, Takeshi (2003) (p. 283) Naturalized
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1979) (voucher ID: BISH 664070) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1975) (voucher ID: BNM 10032) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1981) (voucher ID: BNM 3097) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1977) (voucher ID: BISH 428412) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (year unknown) (voucher ID: BNM 10014) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Malakal Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1981) (voucher ID: BNM 3127) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Guadalcanal Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1977) (voucher ID: BISH 416655) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Guadalcanal Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1985) (voucher ID: BISH 646947) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
United States (other Pacific offshore islands) Wake Islands	Wake Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1993) (voucher ID: BISH 633243) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.
Vanuatu New Hebrides Islands	Êfaté (Efete) Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1980) (voucher ID: BISH 618520) Taxon name on voucher: Desmanthus virgatus (L.) Willd.

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)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2008)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	Australian Biological Resources Study (2008)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 139)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2009)
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 139)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 138)
Ecuador (Mainland) Ecuador	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 139)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 138)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 138)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 138)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2009)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (pp. 136, 138)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 138)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 139)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced	ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre (2009)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 123)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Agalega Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. (1983) (p. 123)
Seychelles Seychelles Islands	Coetivy Island		Robertson, S. A./Fosberg, F. R. (1983) (p. 150) Voucher cited: Robertson 3127 (K)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast and Florida) United States (other states)	USA (Florida)	native	Luckow, Melissa (1993) (p. 135)

Comments:  "In a recent monograph of Desmanthus (Luckow, 1993), species of the D. virgatus complex were reinterpreted.  The result is that the species naturalized on many Pacific islands, including the Hawaiian Islands, is now referred to D. pernambucanus" (Wagner & Herbst, 1995).

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

Information about Desmanthus virgatus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

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

Other Latin names:  Desmanthus depressus Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.; Desmanthus virgatus var. depressus (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) B. L. Turner; Mimosa virgata L.

References:

Australian Biological Resources Study. 2008. Flora of Australia Online. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra.

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 0. Voucher specimen #BNM10014(Otobed, D.O. PW-10014).

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1975. Voucher specimen #BNM10032(Adelbai, H. PW-10032).

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1981. Voucher specimen #BNM3127(Timberlake, J. 3127).

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1981. Voucher specimen #BNM3097(Timberlake, J. 3097).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1953. Voucher specimen #BISH 154244 (Fosberg, F.R. 35224).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1953. Voucher specimen #BISH 572967 (Fosberg, F.R. 35224).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1956. Voucher specimen #BISH 82190 (Fosberg, F.R. 47714).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1957. Voucher specimen #BISH 154245 (Fosberg, F.R. 39274).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1962. Voucher specimen #BISH 154243 (Stone, B.C.M. 4182).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1963. Voucher specimen #BISH 154246 (Fosberg, F.R. 43498).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1965. Voucher specimen #BISH 82119 (Fosberg, F.R. 46266).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1965. Voucher specimen #BISH 660526 (Evans, M. 756).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1977. Voucher specimen #BISH 416655 (Krauss, N.L.H. 1439).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1977. Voucher specimen #BISH 422286 (Spence, G. 431).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1977. Voucher specimen #BISH 428412 (Otobed, D.O. PW-10014).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1979. Voucher specimen #BISH 664070 (MacKee, H.S. 37327).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1980. Voucher specimen #BISH 618520 (Krauss, N.L.H. 1688).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1980. Voucher specimen #BISH 660282 (Fosberg, F.R. 59827).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1980. Voucher specimen #BISH 660431 (Fosberg, F.R. 59855).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1980. Voucher specimen #BISH 660524 (Fosberg, F.R. 60353).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1980. Voucher specimen #BISH 660525 (Fosberg, F.R. 60195).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1980. Voucher specimen #BISH 660536 (Fosberg, F.R. 60032).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 492846 (Florence, J. 2287).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 558053 (Florence, J. 4169).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1982. Voucher specimen #BISH 593649 (Herbst, D.R. 6794).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1983. Voucher specimen #BISH 552794 (Florence, J. 6162).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1983. Voucher specimen #BISH 649576 (Herbst, D.R. 7200).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1983. Voucher specimen #BISH 1000249 (Herbst, D.R. 7200).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1984. Voucher specimen #BISH 546531 (Florence, J. 7102).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1985. Voucher specimen #BISH 646947 (N.L.Krauss 1797).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1987. Voucher specimen #BISH 540435 (Florence, J. 8456).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1988. Voucher specimen #BISH 1000416 (W.L.Wagner 6084).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1993. Voucher specimen #BISH 633243 (E.J.Funk Wake 10).

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 2000. Voucher specimen #BISH 687713 (Waterhouse, B.M. BMW5769).

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

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Stoddart, D. R. 1983. List of the recorded vascular flora of Agalega. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

ILDIS Co-ordinating Centre. 2009. International Legume Database & Information Service. Online searchable database.

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

Luckow, Melissa. 1993. Monograph of Desmanthus (Leguminosae-Mimosoideae). Syst. Bot. Monogr. 38.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McMullen, C. K. 1999. Flowering plants of the Galápagos. Comstock Pub. Assoc., Ithaca, N.Y. 370 p.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 40:1-69. .

Robertson, S. A./Fosberg, F. R. 1983. List of plants collected on Coetivy Island, Seychelles. In: Sachet, M. H., D. R. Stoddart, and F. R. Fosberg. Floristics and ecology of Western Indian Ocean islands. Atoll Research Bulletin No. 273. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. 253 pp.

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara/Denslow, Julie S./Nelson, Duane/Waguk, Erick E. 2000. Invasive plant species on Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia.  USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 43 pp.

Toyoda, Takeshi. 2003. Flora of the Bonin Islands. Aboc & Co. 522 pp.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R. 1995. Contributions to the Flora of Hawai‘i. IV. New Records and name changes. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 42:13-27.

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).

Wiggins, I. L./Porter, D. M. 1971. Flora of the Galapágos Islands. Stanford University Press. 998 pp.