Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER)

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Flueggea virosa
(Roxb. ex Willd.) Voigt, Phyllanthaceae
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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 7 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Phyllanthus virosus Roxb. ex Willd.; Securinega virosa (Roxb. ex Willd.) Baill.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: bai fan shu

English: common bushweed

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrubs up to 4 m high, dioecious; side branches, especially lower ones often with thorny end. Stipules 1.1-1.7 by 0.7-0.8 mm, margin often fimbriate, persistent. Leaves distichous; petiole 3-6 mm long, c. round; blade elliptic to obovate, 1-8 by 0.6-5 cm, length/width ratio c. 1.6, papery; base usually attenuate, margin flat, apex rounded to slightly acuminate, above dark green, underneath glaucously papillate, light greenish; venation indistinct on both sides, nerves 6-13. Inflorescences fascicles. Flowers: sepals outer two smaller than inner 3. Staminate flowers c. 1.5 mm in diameter, greenish to yellowish, pendulous, sweet scented; pedicel 2-6.5 mm long, pale light greenish; sepals 0.7-1.2 by 0.3-1.1 mm, light greenish with white margin; filaments 1.2-2 mm long, white, anthers 0.3-0.5 by 0.2-0.3 mm, light yellow; disc glands fleshy, yellow; pistillode 1.5-2.3 mm long, basally connate, deeply divided into 3 branches, apical 0.3-0.7 mm bent and stigma-like. Pistillate flowers c. 2 mm in diameter; pedicel 2-12 mm long; sepals 0.7-1 mm diameter, disc annular, thin, entire, 0.7-1 mm in diameter; ovary c. 1 by 0.8 mm wide; style 0.5-0.7 mm long, stigmas 0.8-1.1 mm long, upper third split. Fruits globular, 3.4-5.2 mm in diameter, white. Seeds 2.2-2.4 by 1.2-1.8 mm, with thin sarcotesta"  (Flora of Thailand: Euphorbiaceae; also quoted in Starr, Starr & Loope, 2004; p. 22).

Also see description in Flora of China online.

Habitat/ecology:  In Thailand (native), in "open evergreen forest, mixed deciduous forest, deciduous or moist scrub jungle, old clearings, road sides; often common; soil: mainly limestone, also sand and granite as bedrock. Altitude: 10-700 m"  (Flora of Thailand: Euphorbiaceae).  In China (native), "scrub on slopes; 100-2000 m"  (Flora of China online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Tropical Africa and Asia to Japan and Australia and Polynesia"  (Flora of Thailand: Euphorbiaceae).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
State of Hawaii
Hawaiian Islands
Maui Island introduced
invasive
Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2004) (p. 22)
East Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Martz 001128-2 (BISH)
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)
Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Philippines
Philippine Islands
Philippine Islands native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
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)
New South Wales native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Australia
Australia (continental)
Australia (continental) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Western Australia
Australia
Australia (continental)
Northern Territory native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Australia
Australia (continental)
Queensland native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia (Kingdom of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
China
China
China (People's Republic of) native
Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
Scrub on slopes; 100-2000 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hunan, Shandong, Yunnan.
China
China
Hong Kong native
Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 182)
Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia (Republic of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Malaysia
Malaysia
Malaysia (country of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore (Republic of) introduced
invasive
Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 43)
Naturalised
Taiwan
Taiwan Island
Taiwan Island native
Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013)
Scrub on slopes; 100-2000 m.
Thailand
Thailand
Thailand (Kingdom of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam (Socialist Republic of) native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. &
Island group
Location Cited status &
Cited as invasive &
Cited as cultivated &
Cited as aboriginal introduction?
Reference &
Comments
Comoros
Comoro Islands
Comoro Islands native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
La Réunion (France)
La Réunion Island
La Réunion Island introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized
India (Indian Ocean offshore islands)
Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
India (Indian Ocean offshore islands)
Nicobar Islands
Nicobar Islands native
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Mauritius
Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)
Mauritius Island introduced
invasive
U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013)
Naturalized

Control:  If you know of control methods for Flueggea virosa, please let us know.


Need more info? Have questions? Comments? Information to contribute? Contact PIER! (pier@hear.org)

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This page was created on 25 OCT 2010 and was last updated on 6 NOV 2010.